


Kingdom Hearts II: Vanitas Mix

by The_Unlimited



Series: Vanitas' journey through light [7]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Add in of a new character, F/M, Gen, Holy crap there are so many character tags, I never learned what the hell I'm doing, OC Vanitas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 191,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24997996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Unlimited/pseuds/The_Unlimited
Summary: Sora's finally awake, and he hopes that that means that he can just find Riku and go back home to the islands. Pretty soon, though, Vanitas shows up in new clothes, telling him, Donald, and Goofy about new threats to all the worlds, and they're instructed by King Mickey themselves that they need to go on another quest. Pretty soon, they're dealing with Heartless, new enemies called Nobodies, and an evil Organization that's after Kingdom Hearts. Along the way, Sora hopes he can find his friends and stop the Organization... and figure out the mystery of the boy called Roxas
Relationships: Axel & Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Donald Duck & Goofy & Kairi & Mickey Mouse & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Donald Duck & Goofy & Player Character & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Donald Duck & Goofy & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Mentions of Sora/Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Mickey Mouse & Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas & Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Sora & Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas/Yuffie (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Vanitas' journey through light [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1246529
Comments: 52
Kudos: 26





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Geez, there were so many character and relationship tags that had to be done for this story. I'm not looking forward to III when I have to do so many more
> 
> And I decided to change it up with the title. Final Mix worked pretty well for the updated versions of KH I and II, so I figure Vanitas Mix works with adding him in. I'm also gonna change the title for the KH I story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot about Cloud until after I added all the tags. I tried deleting a bunch then adding them again after putting in a tag for him, but it wouldn't place him higher. Kind of weird. I made sure to include him in the tags here because it slipped my mind he was in multiple chapters, and he is gonna have a bigger role in later stories. You'll see what I mean

Vanitas breathed in and out as he sat on the chair, looking down in sadness.

So much had happened in the last week alone, that it was amazing he didn't keel over in exhaustion, even if he didn't get tired without his life force. Roxas escaped the Organization. Xion forced him to destroy her. Roxas tried getting her back and only got captured, his memory erased, and got thrown in a digital town. Then after a few days of watching Roxas go through the fake Twilight Town, Vanitas fought against Riku and his old Master, Ansem the Wise, to try to get him back, but in the end, he still returned to Sora.

After all this time of trying to prevent it, he still lost not one, but two of the friends he's made. And he had no damn clue where Axel was at this point, especially with the Organization threatening to destroy him if he didn't destroy Roxas, so that two might as well be a three.

Vanitas gripped his head as he suddenly had a vision. He didn't exactly remember what it felt like to have a vision when he had a life force, but he sure hoped it didn't involve this much pain. Anyway, he saw in his vision the inside of the train station at the bottom of the clock tower he always sat on top of with his friends after missions. A weird looking blue and white train with designs, star shaped windows, and a magician's hat on top of the front. The door slid open, and Mickey Mouse walked out still wearing his black Organization coat.

Vanitas gasped as he sensed familiar presences that he hadn't been around in months suddenly wake up. His eyes widened in realization of what that meant.

"Oh, my god," Vanitas muttered.

He picked up the handgun he threw at the wall of the ground and ran down the other doorway and through the halls. He entered the white, circular pod room, and he was sure his heart was soaring in joy.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy were in a circle in front of the open pod, holding their hands together and jumping around in a circle while laughing with their usual big smiles on their faces. They stopped jumping and Sora opened his eyes, which widened at the sight of the also wide eyed Vanitas.

"V!" Sora greeted, and Donald and Goofy looked over their shoulders at the ravenette.

Vanitas just breathed out in relief as he walked directly up to Sora and gripped him in a hug. After losing his friends, he needed a strong reminder that his other friends were still alive and well. And this was a good enough reminder.

Sora took the hug with a little bit of confusion. He remembered what Vanitas said some time ago about not being one for physical contact. Sharing a look with Donald and Goofy confirmed that they were equally confused, but shrugged it off.

Once Vanitas reluctantly pulled away from the hug, Jiminy jumped out from Sora's hood and yawned while stretching. "That was some nap!" he announced before he jumped off of Sora's shoulder, landing on the ground.

"You mean, we were asleep?" Sora asked.

"Yeah," Vanitas confirmed with his still cracked voice. "For, uh... nearly a year. You missed quite a lot..." He stopped being sad happy for two seconds to furrow his eyebrows at Sora, who was now the same height as him. "Damn, did puberty hit you like a bag of bricks."

Donald and Goofy shared a laugh with Vanitas about that, and Sora blushed slightly.

"So what's the last thing you fella's remember?" Goofy asked Sora and Donald.

They crossed their arms in thought, and Donald sighed out, "Uh..."

"Let's see..." Sora said, looking up. "We defeated Ansem... Sorry, Xehanort..."

"Yep," Goofy confirmed as Vanitas nodded his head in agreement.

"...Restored peace to the world..." Sora continued. "Found Kairi... Oh, yeah, and then we went to look for Riku. I think that's right so far."

"Then what?" Donald asked.

"We found some pricks in black coats," Vanitas informed them. "An evil Organization that took over the Castle that belonged to my Keyblade Master. We defeated five of them, consisting of two mad scientists, a very angry dude, a gay man, and a bitch, but then you guys went into comas and forgot about it all."

"So the only one of us that remembers out time at that Castle is the amnesiac?" Donald asked.

"You pointed out the irony while we were there, too," Vanitas admitted.

"What does your journal say, Jiminy?" Goofy asked the cricket.

Jiminy took out his journal from their first journal, but then Vanitas remembered how the book was wiped during their stint at Castle Oblivion. He was about to say something when the cricket opened the book.

"Gee, there's only one sentence..." Jiminy announced in thought. "'Thank Naminé'. Hmm... I wonder who that is."

"Some journal that is," Donald commented.

"She was the one who restored your memories during your coma," Vanitas told them. "I don't exactly know where she is, so you're gonna have to hold off on thanking her for now."

"We'll keep that in mind, then," Sora decided.

"What do ya say we find out where we are?" Jiminy asked.

"It's called Twilight Town," Vanitas informed them. "I'll show you guys around."

Jiminy jumped back up onto Sora's shoulder and back into the hood, with Vanitas still convinced that he had somehow built a full apartment in there. Pushing that thought aside, Vanitas eagerly led them out of the lab and out of the mansion, wanting to get as far away from the place he lost his friend in as possible.

"Hey, did you guys notice something about V?" Sora muttered to Donald and Goofy as the ravenette led them through the woods.

"You mean besides the fact he hugged you pretty tightly back there?" Goofy asked.

"You mean besides the fact he hugged you period?" Donald asked.

"Well, part of that," Sora said. "But did you notice his eyes? They were red, a little puffy, and his cheek felt wet. If I didn't know any better... I'd say V was crying before he found us."

Donald and Goofy furrowed their eyebrows in thought at that. They both also knew the thing about Vanitas not having his life force meant that he could feel anything, sweat, cry, or even sleep. His heart was dead, he couldn't do any of that. How could have he cried?

They left the woods and Vanitas led them through the Tram Common, through the alleys towards the track station. Donald and Goofy walked through a gate and down a hall towards what Vanitas remembered from that one mission with Roxas and Axel as "The Usual Spot." They stopped and looked back with Vanitas when they realized that Sora had stopped in front of the gate. The brunette looked around then towards his friends.

"You know, I think I've been to this town," Sora announced.

"Really?" Donald asked. "When?"

"Hmm..." Sora said in thought. "Guess I must have imagined it."

Vanitas was sure he was feeling heartbreak again, even though he knew he couldn't. He had already put together that back in Castle Oblivion, when Vexen said "memories from the other side of your heart" when he gave Sora the Twilight Town card, he was talking about the memories of Roxas. Now that the two were merged together once again, some of Roxas's memories must have merged with Sora's, so he remembers being in the town, just not as himself.

Vanitas shook that off and put on an inquisitive face with his friends as they entered the small room, looking around curiously about where they were in. Looking around, he noticed those kids from that mission, Hayner, Pence, and Olette, all looking in various directions, like something was missing.

Vanitas then remembered that apparently, when DiZ made the versions of people in the digital Twilight Town with Roxas, the people in the world were all connected to their real world counterparts though their hearts... some how. Was there a chance that they would subconsciously remember Roxas? *** _1_ ***

He brushed aside those thoughts as the kids cocked their heads towards the sound of the quartet's footsteps into the small room. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were still looking around inquisitively, though.

"What do you want!?" Hayner snapped, annoyed.

"Uh, nothing," Sora answered nervously. "Just wondering what was back here."

"Now you know," Hayner snapped. "This is our spot."

"You are not happy right now," Vanitas remarked.

Pence and Olette stood up, and Pence walked over to the quartet inquisitively.

"Um..." he said in thought.

"What?" Sora asked.

"You're... new around here, right?" Pence asked as Hayner stood up. "I'm Pence."

"Hayner," Hayner announced as he stood next to his friend. "Nice to meet you. But we got stuff to do, so, catch you later."

He walked away, and Pence raised an eyebrow at his friend's rudeness.

"My name's Olette," Olette introduced herself. "Hey, did you finish up the summer homework yet? Independent studies are the worst, huh?"

"Homework?" Sora asked, confused.

He looked towards his friends. Donald was shaking his head, Goofy was shrugging his shoulders, and Vanitas just looked equally confused.

"I just don't go to high school," Vanitas muttered to his friend.

"Hey, what're your names?" Pence asked.

"Oh, sorry," Goofy said. He gestured to each one of them as he introduced them "We're Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas. People call him V."

"Hey there," Sora said to the two.

Pence and Olette's eyes went wide as they looked at each other, then back at the people in front of them.

"Sora, V, Donald, Goofy, we just met someone who was looking for you," Olette told them.

"He sure seemed in a hurry," Pence remarked. He gestured with his arms as he described, "He had a black coat on, so I couldn't see his face, but he had these... big round ears."

The four only had to think for three seconds before they came to the solution, which Donald announced as, "The King!"

"Mickey!" Vanitas announced.

"Where'd you see him?" Sora asked.

"At the station," Pence answered.

"The station," Sora repeated to affirm it to himself. "Thanks!"

"Well, we'd better get back to that assignment," Olette announced before she walked out of the room.

"Later!" Pence said before he turned and ran after his friends.

The four still in the room looked at each other.

"Oh, boy!" Donald excitedly yelled. "The King's trying to find us!"

"Yeah, let's get to the station!" Sora announced.

"I know the way," Vanitas told them as Donald and Goofy nodded their heads in agreement.

He led the way up the road towards the Station with the clock tower. They stopped outside of the road, and looked around inquisitively. Vanitas avoided the spot on the road that was indented after he punched it in despair as Xion faded in front of him and Roxas just a few days prior. Right now, he has to wonder: how exactly has he not shot himself in the head in despair at this point?

He was taken out of those thoughts as a Dusk suddenly appeared in front of them. Donald and Goofy summoned their weapons as more Dusks started surrounding them. Sora stared in confusion for a second before he brushed it off and summoned his Keyblade.

"Damn Dusks!" Vanitas exclaimed as he pulled out his Firestar M43 handgun and pulled back the chamber in preparation to fire.

Sora started attacking with combo attacks that were different from what he did during their last adventure, and a little similar to what Roxas did during his original attacks. Goofy used his shield in a spinning attack, a charging attack, and a throwing attack. Donald smacked the odd Nobody when it came near him, and Vanitas fired his handgun when one got close.

After the first five Dusks came a couple more with some odd ones that looked like creepy crawlers, and one transformed into a lance that stabbed into the ground. Vanitas then grabbed it by the makeshift pole and pulled it out. The Nobody wriggled in his hand as he slashed its blade at the Dusks that came near him, knocking them back and even destroying one. He then held up the Nobody and shot it right where he guessed the head was. It must have succeeded, because the Nobody exploded in his hand.

They soon took out that wave of Nobodies, which was then replaced by four more Dusks. Sora kept up his combo attacks, destroying one Dusk, while Goofy threw his shield at another one. The shield was then knocked aside, which Vanitas caught. He smacked another Dusk in the face before firing his handgun, destroying the Nobody. He then threw the shield back to Goofy, who caught it, and the two gave each other thumbs-ups. He missed doing stuff like that with the Captain.

The Dusks were replaced by more Crawlers, which apparently could metamorphosis its hands into wings. Vanitas shot one out of the sky and it fell to the ground before exploding. They kept up their attacks and destroyed the Crawlers, then stood in a circle together in the center of the road.

More Dusks started appearing around them, and Donald and Goofy fell to the ground wearily. As the number of Dusks surrounding them then rose up to five, Sora then also fell to the ground wearily. Vanitas put it up to the after effects of his friends being in a coma for a year.

The Dusks started hopping around around them in what Vanitas guessed was supposed to be a victory dance, which annoyed him a bit. He raised his handgun and pulled the trigger... and it clicked empty.

 _Must've hit nine without realizing it_ , Vanitas thought.

He reached into his ammo pocket, only to find it empty.

"Damn it!" Vanitas exclaimed.

He started reaching into his sling for any kind of weapon as the Dusks started jumping in closer. But then, a small figure holding a Keyblade appeared from above them and jumped around, slashing through all five Dusks and taking them out easily. Vanitas watched in awe as the King of Disney Castle landed in front of them. The blade of his Keyblade literally glowed in the morning light.

Sora leaned forwards and got on his hands and knees as he also looked in amazement. Donald and Goofy then jumped onto the brunette, pushing him onto the ground as they also stared in amazement at the King.

"Your Majesty?" Donald asked.

"Shh!" Mickey told them, placing a finger to his mouth for emphasis. "You gotta board the train and leave town! The train knows the way."

He jumped forwards a bit and offered an orange sewn pouch with the design of a leaf on it.

"Here," Mickey told them.

The four of them stood up and Sora took the puch. They all looked at the pouch with curiosity before Donald looked at the roadside entrance to Station Heights.

"Your Majesty..." he called out softly.

They all looked to see the small outline of the mouse's head as he ran down the road, away from them. Donald ran forwards a bit after him, but stopped pretty quickly.

"The King..." Sora said. "Was that really him?"

"Do you know anyone else that short with ears that big?" Vanitas sarcastically asked. *** _2_ ***

"It was definitely him!" Donald announced. "Now we know he's okay!"

"The King was locked in the Realm of Darkness, right?" Sora asked with his arms crossed in thought.

"Uh, huh," Goofy confirmed.

"But we just saw him..." Sora said in thought.

"He could have gotten out," Vanitas pointed out. "It was pretty easy for us to get out of that hellhole."

"And if the King is here," Sora continued. "That means Riku's here!"

"Uh..." Vanitas said, remembering how Riku didn't want to be seen, and how he probably wasn't even on the world right now. "Yeah, sure, maybe."

"Well, I'm gonna go look for Riku," Sora announced. "Then he and I can go back to the islands together. Kairi's there waiting for us! What are you guys gonna do?"

Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas all exclaimed in uncertainty. Vanitas didn't exactly have a way to leave the world since his Vortex Manipulator burned out just this morning, and Donald and Goofy probably didn't either since they didn't know where the Gummi ship was.

"Gawrsh, Sora," Goofy commented. "Do ya have to ask?"

Both he and Donald looked to different sides, frowning slightly. This caused Sora to start laughing.

"Hey!" Donald exclaimed, jumping up in offense. "What's so funny!?"

"Your face!" Sora answered, pointing at the two animals.

They looked at each other with their frowns still present, which quickly faded. The four of them burst out laughing, which lasted for a few seconds.

"What do ya say, guys?" Sora asked. "Let's stick together for one more journey."

"All right," Vanitas agreed as Donald and Goofy nodded their heads in agreement.

"To..." Sora said with a pumped fist before resting both hands on the back of his head in embarrassment. "Where again?"

"We hafta board the train!" Goofy reminded him.

"Oh, yeah," Sora said, lowering his arms.

Donald looked down while sighing out in annoyance, and Vanitas shook his head at his younger lookalike's stupidity.

"C'mon!" Sora announced, gesturing for them to move.

"All the way!" Vanitas repeated his unofficial catchphrase.

Sora then led them across the road and up to the stairs. They walked through the doors of the station and towards the ticket booth.

"Wait up!" a familiar voice called out.

"Huh?" Sora asked as the four turned towards the doors.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette ran through the doors and stopped right in front of the quartet.

"Hey, Sora..." Hayner started.

"What?" Sora asked.

"Nothing, but..." Hayner started again.

"We came to see you off," Pence announced, interrupting Hayner. "It just seemed like something we oughta do."

"Oh... really?" Sora asked. "Thanks."

Vanitas once again knew that this was tied to Roxas, and that made him smile sadly. They were saying good-bye to Roxas, and they didn't even know it.

The sound of an alarm started ringing, signaling that the train was close to leaving.

"You should hurry and get your tickets," Olette suggested.

"Right," Sora agreed, nodding his head.

"Yeah, I don't feel like having another running down the railway incident," Vanitas remarked, remembering an unpleasant incident from right before he met Sora and them.

Sora walked up to the counter and pulled out the orange pouch that Mickey had given them. Olette exclaimed in surprise at the sight of it.

"What is it?" Donald asked.

Olette reached into her pocket and pulled out a pouch that was exactly identical, leaf design and all.

"They're the same," Goofy observed.

"Yeah," Olette agreed.

Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion with his friends as they stared at the two pouches in confusion. Sora shook it off and took out some munny to place on the counter.

"Four tickets, please!" Sora requested.

Sora took the tickets and turned towards where the trains were above them on the steps. He stopped just as another train stopped at the station.

"I can't help feeling like we won't see this town again," Sora announced in sadness.

Once again, Vanitas could tell that the sadness was coming from Roxas, and he felt sad that this was happening for them. Especially since the trio of kids next to them was expressing similar sadness at the thought.

"Why not?" Donald asked.

"You're thinkin' too much," Goofy told Sora.

"That's never a bad thing," Vanitas remarked.

"But, they're right!" Sora admitted, gaining another smile on his face.

They moved towards the blue train with star designs, and stood outside the open door.

"Okay, let's go!" Sora announced.

"Time for a ride," Vanitas announced as Donald and Goofy nodded their heads in agreement.

The two animals walked into the train and Vanitas leaned against it as Sora turned towards the trio they met.

"Bye!" Sora told them.

"Hey, Sora," Hayner said before placing his hand to his chin in thought. "You sure we haven't met before?"

Sora placed one hand to his head and rested his elbow on his other hand as he thought it over.

"Positive," he admitted. "Why do you ask?"

Hayner looked to the side and shook his head. He smiled slightly, lowered his hand, and admitted, "I don't know."

Sora smiled at them for a second before a tear slid down his cheek, to the confusion of both himself and the three in front of them.

"Huh?" he asked, brushing his cheek.

"You okay?" Olette asked.

"Y-yeah," Sora confirmed. "Don't know where it came from."

"Pull it together," Hayner told him with a slight laugh.

"He's kind of bad at doing that," Vanitas remarked with a laugh of his own.

"Yeah, a bit," Sora admitted, rubbing his face. "See ya."

The two got walked into the train, and the trio walked up to the door to get one more look at them. Sora waved goodbye as the door slid shut. Vanitas still had a hard time believing all this was happening. Roxas was gone, and Sora was stuck with the internal feelings of leaving home from him. And those kids that they had only met once were feeling the same level of sadness because of his former Master. How the hell did things come to this?

The train rode out of the station, and Sora leaned against the door to stare out the window at the sky. Vanitas leaned against the wall in contemplation of everything happening as Donald and Goofy sat in the seats, also staring out a window.

A thought then occurred to Sora. He pulled out the pouch and reached inside. He pulled out a small circular crystal and looked at it intently. He then lifted it up and looked at the light reflect on it.

"You know..." Sora started. His friends looked at him before he lowered the crystal a bit. "I'm sad."

"We'll be back," Donald assured the brunette.

"Yeah," Goofy added. "We can visit Hayner and those guys again."

"We'll see them again in no time," Vanitas assured both Sora and Roxas inside Sora.

Sora smiled at his friends, and their attentions were drawn to a bright light filling the windows of the train car. The train was now on bright green magic tracks, travailing throughout the Lanes Between.

"Who the hell owns this train?" Vanitas asked.

He then gripped his head as a vision started. Axel was still alive, and was with Naminé and Riku at the highest point at Sunset Hills in Twilight Town. Axel observed that Riku was there to get rid of them, and Naminé was surprised to learn that DiZ wanted her to be gone. But Riku told them to go, siting it was because she helped them at Castle Oblivion. Axel announced that he was okay with that, and opened a dark corridor, which he and Naminé left through.

Vanitas sighed out as the vision ended. The good thing about this meant that Axel was still alive, and apparently Naminé was with him, too, meaning she was okay. But if Ansem really wanted her gone now, then he was definitely right to run when he had the chance with the Vortex Manipulator. What troubled him was that he didn't know what this would mean going forwards. He did know one thing, though...

"This is certainly gonna be interesting."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 This was actually confirmed in one of the Secret Ansem reports in KH 2, which Everglow showed in the Timeline. I'm not making this up, this actually apparently happened
> 
> *2 It really didn't make sense for Goofy to say he THOUGHT that was Mickey since they were friends. So, Vanitas had to make a sarcastic remark
> 
> Ah, it's good to have the quartet back together


	2. The Mysterious Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang reaches a place that's familiar to Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas... even if the latter one doesn't remember it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can really tell that they didn't have plans for prequels or more sequels when they made this game since Donald and Goofy don't recognize the tower, even though they were there in Birth By Sleep. Especially with Pete. At this one, Goofy said it was Mickey who banished Pete, but then in the prequel, it was Minnie. Did they just forget the stuff with the Disney characters when they made the prequels?

The train rolled further down the tracks until light flared outside the windows once again. The train started to slow down before it stopped completely. Sora and Vanitas walked up to one of the doors, which slid open. The two doppelgängers then marveled at the sight in front of them.

In front of them was a small piece of land that was floating blankly in the air, with a few bushes around the edges of the small island. The main part of it was the large, tan and teal, misshaped tower that rose high into the air. Sora looked up at the tower with his eyes wide in amazement, whereas Vanitas's eyes furrowed in a mixture of surprise and confusion, feeling as if he'd seen this place before.

The quartet walked out of the train, with Donald and Goofy leading the way as the former looked around in confusion. Sora and Vanitas's attentions were drawn back to the train as light flared around the locomotive. The light then disappeared, taking the ship with it, and Sora chuckled nervously.

"There goes our ride..." he commented.

"Hey, I make the jokes no one laughs at," Vanitas told Sora, before they looked towards the tower.

They just now noticed a large figure at the top steps up to the tower, pressing his hands and face against the large, wooden double doors. Vanitas and his anthropomorphic friends were sure the person at the door looked kind of familiar as the quartet walked up to the bottom of the steps, looking up at the large person.

"What's goin' on?" Donald asked.

The person laughed, and Vanitas recognized who it was with an annoyed sigh.

"I sent some of my lackeys inside to see if the master if this here tower's as big and tough as they say," Pete announced, a tone of mockingness in his voice. "Word is, he's a real powerful sorcerer."

This made Vanitas look up in recognition once again. His eyes widened as he remembered that he had seen this tower in his dreams. His dreams of his past. He had been here at one point with Aqua and Mickey, to see this tower's owner, who was even more powerful than Pete and his dumb-ass mocking tone could have figured.

"Which would make him the perfect bodyguard for me," Pete continued, garnering Vanitas's attention back. "See, it don't matter how tough he is; once he's a Heartless, he'll do as I say!"

"A Heartless?" Donald asked in surprise as he, Goofy, and Sora got into fighting stances.

Vanitas just kept his hands in his pockets, knowing that the guy who owned this tower would do just _fine_ against Heartless.

"That's right," Pete confirmed. "There's those things that come outta the darkness in folks' hearts. Why, with all those Heartless at her side, my dear friend Maleficent is gonna conquer everything!" During his next words, the three got out of their fighting stances and shared confused looks with each other and Vanitas, who was trying and failing to hold back a smirk. "And since I got me a debt to pay, I'm goin' round to a bunch of different worlds and buildin' an army of Heartless, special for her."

Vanitas whispered, "Oh..." to himself in realization, now understanding the events of Earth 616 and Pierce a little better.

"Oh, why am I talkin' to you pip-squeaks, anyway?" Pete asked himself. "Go on, scram! I'm behind schedule as it is."

"You oughta find somethin' nicer to do," Goofy commented.

"Says who?" Pete asked, turning around with confusion on his face. He then widened his eyes and exclaimed in confusion. During his next words, his confusion grew into anger. "Wha... AHH! It's you!"

"Pete!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed in surprised unison, to Sora's confusion.

"Hey, Pete," Vanitas said, casually waving at the giant cat as if he was greeting an old friend.

"What are you two nimrods doin' here!?" Pete exclaimed, pointing at Donald and Goofy, then gesturing to Vanitas. "And why's this clown with you!?"

"You're calling _me_ a clown after that stupid-ass hero costume you used to wear?" Vanitas asked. *** _1_ ***

"What are _you_ doing here?" Donald countered.

"You know him?" Sora asked Goofy.

"We sure do!" Goofy announced with exasperation evident on his face. "Pete's been causin' trouble for ages!"

"I'm not surprised," Vanitas announced. "I ran into him on Earth 616, where he tried to use a bad guy there to craft an army of Heartless. A... friend of mine teamed up with the Captain and the Widow to take them both down. It was awesome. We fought a giant Heartless Hydra." He looked up at Vanitas and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Although, do you get off on Heartless, dude? Cause, really, even if you're making an army, you're a little obsessed with them." *** _2_ ***

"Whatever that means," Goofy commented. "Her Majesty banished him to another dimension a long time ago. I wonder how he escaped."

Pete laughed cockily. "You wanna know how, eh? Well, Maleficent busted me out, that's how! And now, you're world... No, no, no, all the worlds, are gonna belong to yours truly. Cause, uh, Maleficent's gonna help me conquer them!"

"Maleficent... huh," Sora said in thought before the four heroes started laughing.

"What are you laughing at!?" Pete demanded. "Why, Maleficent's power is so great..."

"She's toast," Sora remarked.

"Huh!?" Pete asked in shock.

"Sorry, but Maleficent can't help ya now," Goofy told the feline.

"Whaddaya mean!?" Pete demanded as Donald chuckled once again. His eyes then widened in anger and realization. "You! So you're the ones that did it!"

"Well..." Sora said in modesty, placing his hands on the back of his head. "We might have had something to do with it."

"In the sense that she turned herself into a dragon and we killed it," Vanitas elaborated with a slight chuckle.

Pete growled in frustration before he looked on each side of the group, shouting, "Heartless squad! Round up!"

Shadows suddenly appeared around the quartet, so the ones with working Hearts summoned their weapons while Vanitas pulled out his fire axe. It wasn't really anything special, just a bunch of Shadows. With Sora's combos, Goofy's shield, and Vanitas's axe, they managed to take them all out pretty quickly.

During this, Pete got off the stairs and exclaimed in frustration as he faced the quartet, "You just wait! Nobody, and I mean nobody, messes with the mighty Pete!"

"My friend and I messed with you no less than three times over the last few months," Vanitas remarked with a smirk. "And we got away with it pretty well."

"So, 'mighty' Pete..." Sora remarked. "Who lives in this tower, anyway?"

"Oh, ya don't know, eh?" Pete asked with slight annoyance. "Well, it's old Yen Sid." He smirked. "'Course, he's probably a Heartless by now!"

"If you really believe that, than you're dumber than I thought," Vanitas rebutted, crossing his arms, keeping his axe head away from his friends. "Which is really saying something."

"Yen Sid is the King's teacher!" Goofy explained for Sora, understanding from Vanitas's words that the ravenette already understood.

"Wow," Sora said in amazement. "Sounds powerful!"

"You've got no idea, dude," Vanitas remarked as they ran up the stairs into the tower entrance, much to the annoyance of Pete, who fumed where he stood.

The quartet of friends ran up the stairs of the tower, which were magically enhanced to take them up stairways in a gigantic chamber floating in the air. Along the way, they ended up facing off against lots of Shadows and Soldiers as they went through a "Star Room" and a "Moon Room." Once they finished off the Heartless in the latter room, the four regrouped in the center of the room.

"Heartless, Heartless, Heartless!" Donald exclaimed. "Things haven't changed one bit!"

"Yeah, turns out closing Kingdom Hearts didn't have much of an effect against the production of Heartless," Vanitas informed them. "I've had to face off against them for the past few months with some allies while you guys were asleep. It wasn't always easy."

"Well, it's a good thing we're on the job, then," Goofy relented.

"So, the worlds aren't at peace after all?" Sora asked, sadly.

"Sorry, buddy," Vanitas sympathetically told his friend, patting him on the shoulder.

They continued their path up to the tower's main room, and Donald and Goofy walked up to the table in the center of the room, standing at attention. Vanitas stood on Goofy's left casually, sighing out as he looked uneasily at Yen Sid sitting in the chair. Sora, meanwhile, just walked from the door with his hands on the back of his head as he looked around and stopped between the anthropomorphic animals. To his surprise, Donald and Goofy bowed before the wizard in the chair, and Sora's eyes widened at the man in blue robes with a grey beard that fell far down from his face. Vanitas still didn't understand how the sorcerer had a beard but no mustache, but he shrugged it off.

"Master Yen Sid!" Donald greeted. "It's an honor!"

"Hey, there!" Sora greeted casually, waving at Yen Sid.

"Sora!" Donald exclaimed as he and Goofy looked up at the brunette. "Show some respect!"

Sora placed his hand on the back of his head, but Yen Sid waved to them to calm the mallard down.

"So, you are Sora," Yen Sid assessed. "It is amazing how much you resemble our youngest Keyblade Master in decades."

"Yeah, we don't understand it, either," Vanitas admitted as Donald and Goofy stood back up. "Have you got a clue?"

"Not really," Yen Sid admitted, shaking his head. "I am sorry to hear about everything bad that has happened to you since our last meeting, Vanitas."

"I appreciate it," Vanitas told the sorcerer. "I don't suppose there's any way you could reverse what happened to my life force, or even give me another Keyblade?"

"I am sorry, but I cannot do either," Yen Sid admitted. "I do not know any spells that could replicate the level of light magic of a Keyblade exploding that wouldn't also tear you to pieces."

"And we... don't necessarily want that," Sora remarked.

"As for the Keyblade," Yen Sid continued. "Without a working heart, you cannot wield one yet. Remember, the power of the Keyblade comes from its wielder's heart, so without a working heart, there is no chance you could use a Keyblade of your own."

"That's also kind of disappointing," Vanitas admitted. "But I'm kind of used to it at this point."

"Now then, have you seen the King yet?" Yen Sid asked.

"Yes, we did, Master," Goofy answered. "But we didn't get a chance to talk to him."

"Yes..." Yen Sid agreed. "The King has been quite busy of late."

"Understatement much," Vanitas commented, remembering how the mouse was gone for months while Riku helped out DiZ.

"Therefore, it would seem that the task of instructing you three falls upon the shoulders of me and Vanitas," Yen Sid continued. "Young Master Jordan has seen a lot during your slumber that will be useful in the perilous journey you have ahead of you. You must be well prepared."

"You mean... we have to go on another quest?" Sora asked with unease. "I was looking forward to finding my friend Riku, so we could go back to the islands."

"Yes, I know," Yen Sid admitted. "However, everything in your journey, Sora, is connected. Whether you will find your way home to the islands... Whether you will return alone or with your friend... And, whether or not the islands will still be there... And the key that connects them all is you, Sora."

"I'm... the key?" Sora asked in amazed surprise.

He closed his fist in contemplation before holding out his hand and summoning his Keyblade.

"It's just a figure of speech, dude," Vanitas commented. "You're not actually a Key."

"Chosen wielder of the Keyblade!" Yen Sid announced. "You are the key that will open the door to light."

Sora nodded his head in agreement before lowering his Keyblade to his side. Yen Sid looked over the other three, and Donald and Goofy stood up straight at attention and nodded their heads. The sorcerer then waved his hand, and a large book appeared on the table in front of him.

"This book contains valuable knowledge you will need for your journey," Yen Sid announced as he waved the book up to the air and twisted it around so it was now facing the quartet. It then floated back down onto the table and opened. "Study it carefully. Once you have finished, we will speak of the enemies you will surely confront."

They read the book, which only ended up being really freaking confusing. Once they red more than a few passages, a question grew in Sora's mind.

"But wait a sec; how come the Heartless are still running around?" he asked.

Donald and Goofy nodded their heads, wanting an explanation as well.

"Your past endeavors did prevent an immense fusion of Heartless from the great darkness," Yen Sid admitted. "Make no mistake about that. However, the Heartless are darkness made real; and darkness yet lingers in every heart. The Heartless _are_ fewer. But while darkness exists in a single heart, it will be difficult to eliminate them."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy sighed out in disappointment.

"Gawrsh, that must mean if everybody's heart was full of light, them Heartless'd go away!" Goofy assessed.

"Pretty much," Vanitas agreed. "But there isn't really that much hope of something like that happening anytime soon."

"Precisely," Yen Sid informed them. "Now it is time to speak of the enemies that you will encounter."

He gestured to the side, and a projection of Donald appeared near the chalk board, much to the duck's surprise. The projection then glowed with light, and once it faded, it had changed into a projection of a Shadow.

"If one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart, they too will become a Heartless," Yen Sid announced. "But you know this."

Sora and Goofy nodded their heads as Donald winced at the projection once again.

"The Heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts," Yen Sid continued. "Never let your guard down!"

"But there is something we never knew about them, though," Vanitas announced.

Yen Sid waved his hand once again, and a projection of a Dusk appeared next to the Shadow.

"It turns out, when people lose their hearts, the empty shell that served as the body takes action," Vanitas announced as the projection of the Shadow disappeared. "That shell grows if a person has a strong will, whether the person who lost their heart is good or evil. The shell forms into another being, even though they don't have hearts. They're called Nobodies, and they keep going on as if they do have their own wills... even though they don't exist."

He furrowed his eyebrows at Yen Sid.

"Although, the two groups are misnamed," Vanitas announced. "Heartless are the lost hearts that fell to darkness and the Nobodies are the empty bodies that go on without hearts. But shouldn't the Nobodies be called Heartless since they don't have hearts, and the Heartless be Nobodies since they don't have wills?" *** _3_ ***

His friends furrowed their eyebrows in equal confusion.

"I do not know why that is, either," Yen Sid admitted, shaking his head. "But you should know that while Nobodies may seem to have feelings, this is but a ruse... they only pretend to have hearts. You must not be deceived!"

"Nobodies..." Sora assessed. "They don't exist..."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped in surprise as two more projections of Dusks appeared next to them.

"Now then... the being you see before you is known as a Dusk," Yen Sid continued. "They are the most common form of Nobody."

"They serve as scouts," Vanitas announced. "And they can be quite annoying."

"But there are others," Yen Sid continued. "Some larger, some with frightening and unique powers. Be vigilant! On your journey, you will meet an alarming number of Dusks. They will all attempt to do you harm."

The projections faded pretty quickly.

"Still, they are nothing but empty shells, destined to return to darkness," Yen Sid admitted. "But..."

Projections of hooded members of Organization XIII appeared in front of the three in front of the table. Based off of their builds, Vanitas was able to recognize the figures as those of Xemnas, Xigbar, and Saïx, but he brushed that off since it wasn't important. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at the figures with unease, probably remembering when they had fought Xemnas back on Hollow Bastion.

"The beings you see before you now are different," Yen Sid announced.

"They're more powerful Nobodies than usual," Vanitas announced. "When someone has strong enough of a heart, the Nobodies gain the appearances of how they were when they were human. They formed a group called Organization XIII. Remember that guy we faced off against back at Hollow Bastion?" Luckily, they nodded their heads in confirmation. "That prick was the leader. I faced off against him and some of his underlings while I was taking out Pete's attempts at forming an army of Heartless over the past few months." He pouted like an upset child. "They destroyed my SHIELD outfit."

Yes, that was a lie, but he remembered Riku's desire to not want Sora to know what had happened to him lately, so Vanitas admitting that he and the silver haired boy had a falling out would have been an obvious indication that something had happened, so he kept quiet about that.

"The Organization commands the lesser Nobodies," Yen Sid continued for Vanitas. "As Vanitas said, the Dusks serve as scouts for them."

"Organization XIII," Sora repeated.

"The names are anagrams of their old names but with the letter X added," Vanitas announced. "I met a member named Axel, but I remembered him as Lea from his human form from back when I was an apprentice of Ansem the Wise. Some of the founding members of the Organization were my old apprentice mates. Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo became Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion. Over the last few months, we've actually managed to take out nearly half their numbers, so there's only a few left. They're still tough as _fuck_ though."

"Perfect," Sora muttered in obvious frustration.

"Hey, nice job with sarcasm," Vanitas praised his doppelgänger.

"While Heartless act on instinct, Nobodies function in a higher manner," Yen Sid continued. "They can think and plan. And it seems they are working towards a goal. What that goal is, we do not..."

"They're making their own Kingdom Hearts," Vanitas announced, to the surprise of everyone there. "Over the last few months, they've been destroying Heartless and stealing the hearts as part of a ploy. Instead of going back to where they belong, the hearts gather together at their base, forming a giant heart shaped moon that serves as their own personal tie to Kingdom Hearts. They were told that they were doing all of that to get hearts of their own, but I don't see how that was supposed to help them with that. Whatever they really want Kingdom Hearts for, it clearly can't be good."

"Without any more information, all we can go on is they're trying to use kidnapped hearts to become their own people," Yen Sid admitted. "The King sensed the danger, and journeyed forth to fight it. He found the dark realm's Keyblade, and with it, closed the door. Now he's traveling from world to world, fighting the Heartless as he seeks to answer the riddle of the Nobodies and Organization XIII."

The projections faded at that.

"Then I guess we'd better go find the King first!" Sora announced.

"But where could he be?" Donald asked, looking down with crossed arms.

"I couldn't find him during those few months," Vanitas admitted. "But that was because I was on my own, and was a little pre-occupied with other stuff. Now that we're back together, we should be able to find him once we start looking."

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "And the King must know where Riku is, 'cause the two of them were together in the realm of darkness when we closed the door. You know, after defeating Xehanort."

"So, before you go, you will need more suitable traveling clothes," Yen Sid told Sora. Sora looked down in surprise as he realized the man was talking about his old red jumpsuit, black and grey jacket, shoes, and gloves. "Those look a bit too small for you." He then gestured to the nearby doors. "Through there, you'll find three good fairies. If you ask, they'll create for you appropriate garments."

"Gawrsh, Sora, you sure are growing up fast," Goofy commented as the brunette looked around himself on his smaller outfit.

"Like I said, puberty hit him like a sack of bricks," Vanitas remarked as he and Donald chuckled at the boy's misfortune.

"Uh, I guess," Sora said in slight embarrassment.

The four of them walked through the door and down the hallway into a small circular chamber. The chamber appeared as a wardrobe room, complete with a wardrobe, some covered up mirrors, and a table with a lit candle on top. Three fairies, dressed in red, green, and blue dresses and hats respectively were chatting with each other next to the wardrobe.

"Me, you guys, Riku, and the King," Sora announced. "I don't care who this Organization is or what its planning. With the six of us... I mean, the seven of us... there's nothing to worry about. Right?"

"Yeah!" Donald agreed.

They walked towards the fairies, who looked up at the approaching quartet.

"Well, look who's here, dears!" the red fairy, Flora, announced. "Sora, Vanitas, Donald, and Goofy!"

"Oh, if you're looking for clothes, you've come to the right place!" the blue fairy, Merryweather announced as she and Flora walked towards the quartet.

"I'll do the designing," the green fairy, Fauna, eagerly announced.

Flora and Merryweather moved Sora into place before moving to stand near their sister. Fauna then shot a spell out of her wand, which changed Sora's current clothes so they now had a shade of green over them.

"Oh, that will never do!" Merryweather announced in anger.

She shot a spell out that changed Sora's clothes so they now had a shade of blue over them.

"Now, now, dears," Flora told them in a reprimanding voice, before shooting out a spell that sent a shade of pink over Sora's clothes.

"Vanity much?" Vanitas whispered to Donald, who chuckled and took some of the offered candy the ravenette had pulled out seconds earlier when he saw this was gonna take a while.

"But don't you like this better?" Fauna asked Sora before shooting a spell to make his clothes shaded in green again.

"Hold on!" Flora told her sisters, changing Sora's clothes to the pink tinge again, to the detriment of the visibly unsettled Sora.

"Are you certain?" Fauna asked before changing the clothes to green again.

"Blue!" Merryweather announced before changing the clothes to blue again.

This went on for a little while, with the fairies constantly changing Sora's small jumpsuit to the color that each one of them preferred. Vanitas sighed out as this went on for long enough for his box of Reese's pieces to run empty, but then his attention was drawn to a large, circular open window hole up along the top of the room. A wicked looking raven was looking down into the room, which then flew away quickly once it realized it had been found. Vanitas didn't understand what _that_ meant, but he brushed it off as the show with the fairies continued.

"Aww, would you just decide?" Sora asked in annoyance, with his clothes now shaded in green again.

"Yeah, we don't exactly have all day," Vanitas announced.

The three fairies stopped in their places, then looked at each other with slight chuckles of embarrassment as they realized they had taken this too far.

"All right, then," Flora announced. "Together now, dears. And no more squabbling!"

The three fairies shot spells from their wands at once, which made Sora glow brightly for a few seconds. Once the light faded, the brunette was now decked out in clothes that impressed even Vanitas, what with all the black and cool looking straps along his long shorts, shirt, jacket, and even shoes.

"Oh, my!" Flora praised as Sora observed his new clothes in amazement.

"Ooh, it's lovely," Fauna announced.

"Oh, yes!" Merryweather agreed. "He does look very dashing."

The Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand, and he looked down at it to see how well it worked with the outfit.

"Now, those aren't ordinary garments," Flora announced.

"They have very special powers," Fauna elaborated. Flora shot out another spell, and a yellow orb appeared in front of Sora. "Take the orb, dear."

Sora complied and let the yellow orb fly into his left hand.

"And watch what happens," Merryweather announced.

Sora then froze up, and ended up in semi spread eagle position with his fists clenched as energy appeared around him. Vanitas, Donald, and Goofy all exclaimed, "Whoa!" as Sora's clothes were suddenly more naturally red and black, and he floated back onto the ground with Kingdom Key in one hand, and Star Seeker in the other, much to Vanitas's jealousy, although he didn't know why he was jealous. *** _4_ ***

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed as he observed the other Keyblade in his hand.

"Wow!" Donald exclaimed.

"Two Keyblades!" Goofy assessed.

"Badass," Vanitas remarked.

"This journey's gonna be twice as difficult as your last," Merryweather informed them.

Sora sighed out in sadness at that news.

"Your garments also have other powers, but you will have to discover what they are on your journey," Flora announced. During her words, Sora stood straight back up and observed the Keyblades in his hands with a slight smile.

"Okay, I'll do my best," Sora assured them. "And thanks a lot!"

"Oh, and there's something else for you from Master Yen Sid," Fauna announced.

"Oh, boy!" Donald exclaimed in excitement, looking up at Goofy and Vanitas.

Sora changed back to normal, out of the Valor Drive Form, and they ran back into the sorcerer's chamber. The Master was standing by one of the windows, and gestured them over. Within seconds, their old vessel, the Gummi Ship, appeared outside the glass.

"Hey!" Donald exclaimed in excitement. "It's the Gummi Ship!"

"I was actually starting to miss that thing!" Vanitas announced, containing his excitement a bit as they ran towards the window.

Sora turned to his friends and asked, "So you guys ready to go?"

They nodded their heads, then the four of them stood together in a straight line, standing at attention as they faced Yen Sid.

"Now, now, just a moment," the sorcerer told them, and the quartet slumped out of attention. "Because of your previous endeavors, the worlds have returned to their original states. That means the pathways between them have disappeared."

"How do we get around?" Donald sadly asked.

"Do not fear," Yen Sid assured them. "If what the King suspected proves true, the worlds have prepared new pathways along which you may travel. These pathways may be utilized by unlocking special gates. How these gates are opened, I'm afraid I do not know... However, the Keyblade will serve as your guide. When a beam of light radiates from the Keyblade, return to the Gummi Ship. Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach, they nonetheless remain connected by invisible ties. As do our hearts."

"Our hearts are connected," Sora assessed.

"Connected to our friends," Vanitas elaborated.

"That is correct," Yen Sid confirmed.

"Got it!" Sora told him.

"But be warned," Yen Sid added. "As you proceed, the Heartless and the Nobodies will be using their own paths: Corridors of darkness, to travel from world to world. They may be attempting to link these dark pathways to the gates between the worlds."

"Hey!" Donald exclaimed in anger. "That's not fair!"

"Nothing ever is," Vanitas informed the shortest member of the group.

"Now then, that is all the information I can give to you," Yen Sid informed the quartet. "Go forth, Sora, Vanitas, Donald, and Goofy. Everyone is waiting."

"Okay, let's get going!" Sora told his friends as he smiled at them.

They nodded their heads at him before all of them once again stood straight up at attention.

"Master Yen Sid!" Donald announced.

"We sure do appreciate the help," Goofy announced as they all saluted the sorcerer.

"Now, let's roll," Vanitas announced.

They turned towards the door and ran towards it as Yen Sid disappeared in a flash of light behind them. Climbing aboard the ship, the quartet was happy to be back controlling something they were familiar with. They piloted the ship off world and into the Lanes Between, ready for another adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Vanitas will NEVER let him forget about that 😂 
> 
> *2 That's actually a pretty good question. I mean, Pete was like, really obsessed with Heartless in this game, wanting to make an army or not
> 
> *3 Yeah, he's gonna ask people that until he gets an answer for the misnomer system
> 
> *4 Remember, back in Birth by Sleep, Vanitas thought that Star Seeker was awesome, and actually wanted it for a little while. So, even if he doesn't remember that, subconsciously, I think it feels natural he'll be jealous when his friend got a Keyblade he liked
> 
> Ever had those moments where you plan out dialogue in your head before writing, but then you get to those moments and you forget what the dialogue was supposed to be? That happened to me with the meeting with Pete. There was supposed to originally be a scene where Vanitas laughed his ass off during an explanation, but I forgot what the plan getting there was.
> 
> Also, I'm gonna be honest, when I first played this game and Yen Sid disappeared right before the fairies accidentally brought back Maleficent with the power of memories, I actually thought he was in on her being resurrected. The later games proved younger me wrong in a big way.
> 
> Despite all that, next chapter will see the group meeting with their old friends back at Hollow Bastion. And you'll end up seeing why Vanitas is in a relationship tag...


	3. The Restoration Committee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang begins their journey at a world they know...

As they flew the Gummi Ship through the Lanes Between, the computer suddenly rang as they got a message from their resident Gummi engineers back at Disney Castle, Chip and Dale.

"Howdy, Sora!" Dale greeted. "How ya doin'?"

"It's your favorite Gummi engineers here, ready for duty," Chip announced. "Chip..."

"And Dale!" Dale finished.

"Happy flying!" the two chipmunk brothers told them in unison.

"I actually kind of missed those two nut heads," Vanitas admitted with a slight smirk.

They looked over the map of close enough worlds on the computer monitor, but were dismayed to find...

"Only one?" Sora asked, seeing the single world on the horizon.

"That's no good!" Donald exclaimed.

"Wait!" Goofy announced as he and Vanitas observed the world on the monitor. "I think it's a world we know!"

"Definitely looks familiar!" Vanitas agreed with a smirk, already figuring out which world it was.

* * *

As they flew the ship closer to the land, Vanitas had a slight vision of Pete appearing at the remains of a Heartless castle on a part of the world, who was losing hope in the plan as he observed the small chamber he was in. Just as he lost all hope, his attention was drawn to the balcony outside, where that familiar, wicked looking raven was. It cawed at Pete, and his eyes widened.

The vision ended as Vanitas exited the ship and ran along a tall balcony like area in a market place. They ran towards the edge and looked up to see a giant, familiar castle high above them in the distance with construction happening around it.

"It's Hollow Bastion!" Sora announced.

"Gawrsh, it looks kind of different now," Goofy remarked.

"Never thought I'd see it like this again," Vanitas admitted with a slight smile, looking up at the castle he once called home. "Looks like they're working on rebuilding the city."

"I hope Leon and the gang are okay," Donald announced, while Goofy looked up along the top of the rooftops of the buildings around them.

Vanitas followed the canine's attention up to the rooftops to see Soldiers disappear from view, signifying that they were up to something.

"Uh-oh," Goofy announced. "Looks like we're gonna have to do some fightin'."

"That sounds about normal," Vanitas admitted.

They ran down the steps of the balcony like area and went through the marketplace. They ran up another staircase where they came into sight of Moogles, and a large freezer like area near them. Their attentions were then drawn to a fancily dressed duck facing the freezer, away from them.

"Uncle Scrooge!?" Donald exclaimed with surprise.

"Er, who?" Sora asked.

"He's Donald's Uncle; a business tycoon!" Goofy answered. "Before the Heartless showed up, he travelled the worlds on a Gummi Ship with the King. He was helpin' to set up a traffic system."

"A transit system!" Donald corrected him.

"What's all the racket?" Scrooge asked.

He turned around, showing that he was holding an ice cream bar with weird looking, not that appetizing colors.

"Why if it isn't Donald!" Scrooge greeted. "And Goofy! And a Keyblade master with a brunette clone! Hello, lads!"

Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows before they widened in surprise.

"Oh, yeah, we met once," he announced. "Damn, that was a long time ago. I'm surprised you remember me."

"I've got a unique memory," Scrooge announced. "So, you still sure you'd never end up in a Gummi Ship?"

"I said that?" Vanitas asked. Scrooge nodded. "Damn. Guess I really did have no idea how things were gonna end up for me before I lost my memory."

"Sounds like it," Scrooge agreed. "Aye, you all look hale and hearty!"

"So do you, Uncle Scrooge," Donald told his uncle.

"Ah, if only I were..." Scrooge admitted with a sigh in disappointment. "I canna seem to recreate my favorite old-time ice cream. I'd make millions if I just got it right..."

Scrooge tried the ice cream bar in his hand, then grimaced at the taste.

"Terrible...!" he sadly announced.

"You'll get it one day, man," Vanitas assured his friend's uncle.

The quartet then walked past the fridge and down some other stairs, which led down into a neighborhood like area. They looked around the square shaped part of the alley they were in, but then jumped in surprise as cylinder shaped bits of light appeared around them, with weird looking spheres appearing in the centers.

"Hey, what's going on?" Donald asked.

"That's the town's defense mechanism," a female voice above them called out.

The boys looked up to see a familiar, black haired girl, now wearing black and beige clothes, standing on one of the higher mechanisms of the town with her fists resting on her hips in a super hero pose and her eyes closed happily.

"Yuffie!" Vanitas and Sora greeted in happy unison.

The girl waved at them before opening her eyes in shock.

"Look out!" Yuffie warned them.

Sora summoned his Keyblade and Vanitas pulled out a SPAS-12 shotgun just in time for Nobodies to appear around them. Pretty soon, they were surrounded by five Dusks, and they all stood ready with their weapons drawn.

Sora started out with the usual with combo attacks, while Vanitas blasted a Dusk directly in the face with his shotgun, which had about as much of an effect as a fireball. The town's defense mechanism helped out by having the orbs go under the Nobodies and blasting them up into the air, which aided Donald in blasting Thunder magic at them. After taking out one Dusk, Sora tried out the Drive form by igniting the Valor form, which apparently made Goofy disappear. He started using wicked attacks with the Kingdom Key and the Star Seeker while Vanitas put a new Nobody, called a Samurai, in a headlock. The ravenette stabbed his kitchen knife into the Nobody, which destroyed it.

In very little time, the Nobodies all ended up being destroyed. With the battle ended, light flared and Goofy was once agin with them, and Sora's clothes were back to normal.

"Hey, you guys!" Yuffie waved at them excitedly from on top of the platform above them. She jumped off of it and landed in front of the four. "I see you're still in top form."

 _Same could be said for_ _you_ , Vanitas thought, looking her up and down, suddenly realizing how much he missed her.

"What'd you expect?" Sora asked with a slight smile. "Looks like you're doing okay."

"Well, what did _you_ expect?" Yuffie asked.

"Maybe a bit more shurikans and knives," Vanitas quipped.

"How are the others?" Donald asked.

"Great!" Yuffie informed them.

"Hey, Yuffie," Sora started. "Have you seen the King and Riku?"

"Nope," Yuffie simply said as she started walking down the road, which made Vanitas smirk and Sora look down in sadness. She stopped and looked back at the quartet. "But I had a feeling I'd see you guys again."

Sora smiled at her, then made a move to make himself look like he was in a brooding manner.

"'We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other'," he repeated.

"Is that supposed to be Leon?" Yuffie smirked.

"It's pretty accurate," Vanitas admitted as he and the others started laughing.

"Everybody's working on stuff over at Merlin's house," Yuffie informed them. "C'mon!"

They followed her down the alleyways to the house in the neighborhood with the large, intricate, unusual looking parts on the rooftop. They could tell this was Merlin's house without even needing Yuffie's instructions.

They walked in through the front door and saw Cid working on a computer with Leon and Aerith standing on either side of him looking at the screen.

"Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" Yuffie announced with a smile on her face as she gestured to the others.

The three at the computer turned from it and looked at the quartet, with Aerith smiling immediately.

"We missed you!" she announced, placing her hands together.

"Well, if you ain't in top shape," Cid complimented them.

"I knew it," Leon announced with his arms crossed and a slight smile.

"Knew what?" Sora asked as the quartet walked up to join their friends.

"A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time," Leon informed them.

"You...remembered?" Sora asked, hurt on his face as he, Donald, and Goofy all jumped in surprise.

"Oh, yeah," Vanitas said in remembrance. "I saw it in a vision. See, during your sleep, people had to restore some memories you guys lost, so apparently everyone who knew us just forgot about you guys due to that weird ass magic I don't understand. I think it was along the lines of 'to restore their memories, other people had to forget about them.' I don't really get it, but just know that's what made them forget, so don't take offense."

"That... makes me feel much better," Sora admitted, growing relieved with Donald and Goofy.

"'During your sleep'?" Yuffie asked.

"They had to go to sleep over the past year," Vanitas told them.

"Where?" Cid asked. "In cold storage?"

"Yeah," Vanitas simply answered, while the other three smiled in slight embarrassment. "The pods even looked like fucking flower buds."

Cid furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at that, and Vanitas smiled. He missed this crazy ass mechanic.

"It doesn't matter," Aerith announced. "This is great. Everyone's together again!"

"So, um... we're trying to find Riku and the King," Sora told them. "Have you seen 'em?"

Aerith, Cid, and Leon all gave him a sympathetic look as they shook their heads.

"Right," Sora said, looking down sadly.

"Sorry," Aerith told him. "But let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Okay?"

"Okay," Sora said. "Thanks."

"Don't go thankin' us just yet," Cid announced, surprising Sora as he jumped out of his seat and walked towards the brunette, so Sora backed up a bit in response.

"Hollow Bastion's got a problem," Leon informed them. "A big problem."

"That sounds about right," Vanitas admitted, sighing out.

"You mean, like Nobodies?" Sora asked, looking at the other brunette over Cid's shoulder. "And Heartless?"

"That's right!" Yuffie confirmed.

Vanitas didn't remember telling these guys about Nobodies, but he brushed them already knowing about them off.

"Sounds like you could use our help," Sora assessed.

"Then let's cut to the chase," Leon announced. He walked forwards a bit, and Sora and Vanitas faced him. "Sora, V, Donald, Goofy. We were hoping the four of you might give us a hand around here."

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas answered. "This place was like a home to me for a year. It's the least I could do."

"Like we're gonna say no?" Sora asked with a smirk.

Leon chuckled. "...I forgot who I'm dealing with."

"Hey... what do you mean by that?" Donald asked, inquisitively.

"Just think of it as a sort of 'Leon compliment'," Aerith answered.

"And those alone are pretty rare," Vanitas announced, smile on his face.

Leon then walked over to the door and opened it, before looking back at them.

"Follow me to the bailey," he announced. "There's something you need to see."

Leon walked away, and Vanitas and Yuffie looked at each other, each one very happy to see the other.

"So, it's been a while..." Yuffie announced.

"Indeed it has," Vanitas agreed, smiling slightly.

"You remember..." Yuffie started. "How... it felt very weird when we kissed back in the castle?"

"Yeah, quite vividly," Vanitas answered with a nod of the head.

"Well..." Yuffie started once again, with a slight blush. "Over the past few months, I've been kind of thinking about it again, and those times... it didn't feel weird."

"Same here," Vanitas admitted.

Slowly but surely, the two leaned in to each other, and locked their lips together. The kiss was about as long as their last one was, but this time, neither one wanted to part because of it feeling weird. They eventually did part, and smiled at each other, with some of their friends smiling at them...

Then, two seconds later, they quickly grabbed each other and started making out, pretty intensely.

"All right," Cid announced, looking away and blocking the sight of them with his hand. "Get a room, you two!"

The sound of feet running on the ground happened, and when Cid looked towards them again, they were gone.

"Hey, where'd they go?" Cid asked, confused.

"You just told them to get a room," Sora told Cid, not understanding what he meant by that.

Cid's eyes widened at that.

"Oh, no!" he announced, angrily as he walked out the door. "Not on my watch!"

Sora looked at Aerith, confusion on his face.

"Uh..." he said. "What exactly..."

"You'll find out when you're older," Aerith told him with a chuckle.

The sound of people exclaiming in pain garnered their attentions. The four still in the house looked towards the door to see Cid dragging Vanitas and Yuffie back into the room by their ears, with both the black haired individuals crying out in pain.

"I'm pretty sure even I can feel this!" Vanitas announced.

"Good," Cid told him.

"We weren't even gonna do anything!" Yuffie denied. "God, man!"

He threw them forwards, and they exclaimed as they moved back next to Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who looked happy for Vanitas, if albeit confused about what was currently happening. All of their intentions were drawn back to the door as a tall cloud of smoke appeared in front of it, depositing Merlin the wizard.

"Oh!" Merlin exclaimed in surprise. "I thought it was you. Right on time!"

"It's Merlin!" Donald announced as the quartet walking up to greet him, with Vanitas reluctantly leaving Yuffie's side to do so.

"Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out!" Yuffie excitedly informed the wizard.

"Splendid!" Merlin remarked. "We'll count on you!"

"Right," Sora, Vanitas, Donald, and Goofy said as they nodded their heads.

"Ah, yes," Merlin announced in sudden remembrance. He looked past them to Aerith. "Did you give them the cards, dear?"

"Oh!" Aerith said, placing her hand over her mouth in remembrance.

The quartet turned towards her as she reached into her pocket and pulled out four identical purple cards.

"Here... they're presents for you," Aerith announced as she gave each one of the boys a card. "Leon thought you might like to have them."

Sora took the card and saw on the front it had a small yellow design of the main castle, with the letters "HBRC Honorary Member." Confused, he turned it around to see...

"Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!" he read aloud.

Underneath the words was a small white rectangle with his name written in slight cursive.

"Membership cards!" Donald announced.

"Kinda cool, huh?" Goofy asked.

"Man, this is even better than that one that provided me free booze at that shop!" Vanitas announced with a smile. _'Cause this one doesn't have an expiration date._

Sora smiled and nodded in agreement with his friends.

"Hey," he announced as he turned to the door. "Thanks, Leahhh... huh?"

Leon was nowhere in sight outside the door, and that's when it occurred to them.

"Oh, no!" Sora exclaimed. "We're supposed to be at the bailey!"

Donald and Goofy nodded their heads in agreement. Vanitas shared a good-bye kiss with Yuffie while Merlin supplied Sora with Blizzard magic once again, which was apparently something he had forgotten how to do during his sleep.

Along the way through the town to the bailey, Vanitas contemplated something weird. He wasn't joking when he said that he could feel pain when Cid dragged him back into the house by the ear. That... actually did provide a bit of pain. But, how?

And this wasn't the first time something odd like this had happened. Of course he noticed when he actually felt sadness in his chest when Thor lost his mom during that madness with the dark elves, but there were other moments. One time, Bruce accidentally turned into Hulk back at Avenger's Tower, and punted Vanitas through a wall, and that caused quite a bit of pain to his back. He of course noticed it after he lost Roxas when he suddenly started crying... but all of those should have been impossible. His heart was still dead, so he was somewhere between alive and dead, so he still shouldn't be able to feel anything. So how did all of that stuff happen to him?

Vanitas had to brush those thoughts aside as he and the others ran down the steps and through the gate of the bailey. There were two balconies in the area, one in front of an archway that contained the stairs down to the path for the back entrance to the castle, and Leon was standing in front of the one in front of the archway. The quartet walked up to Leon, and he gestured out in front of him.

"Look at that," he informed them.

All four of them looked out in front of them, with Donald climbing up onto the wall to see, and their eyes widened.

Far in the distance was the remains of what could be considered Maleficent's base of operations in the Dark Depths, far deep in the plains of giant blue rock mountains. On the flat ground under the castle was so many Heartless that they legitimately couldn't see the ground surrounding it. And they could tell that they were Heartless because the trademark yellow, beady eyes were visible throughout the entire sea of black.

"Looks like Pete managed to succeed at getting his army," Vanitas remarked.

"We want to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be," Leon announced. "Who knows; maybe even something better. There's still a lot to do, but I'm sure we can handle everything... Except... for that... and that."

They followed his pointing finger down to the rock pathway that was going towards the castle and the army of Heartless. Dusks were walking down the path, towards the Heartless. They had no idea, why, though.

"We'll handle 'em," Sora promised.

"Well, that's good to hear," Leon commented. "So Sora, V, do you know what's going on, then?"

"Like V said, there's this guy, Pete, who's been going around plotting with the Heartless," Sora explained.

"With some help from the Avengers, I managed to stop his plans to get an army of gigantic Heartless out of the people on Earth 616," Vanitas explained. "He also tried getting even more Heartless on Neverland, but with some help, I managed to take out all those pricks, too. I think it's safe to say this guy isn't smart enough to tie his own shoes."

"The real people we need to worry about are the Nobodies," Sora added.

"And those Organization XIII guys in charge, too!" Goofy added.

Vanitas was about to remind him that Organization XIII are Nobodies when a voice he recognized as Xemnas's announced from somewhere, "You called?"

The five males looked around in confusion before Sora led the way to the arch, where there was a stairway down on the right. Donald and Goofy already summoned their weapons, and Vanitas pulled out his katana.

"You're doing well," Saïx's announced.

"Who's that?" Sora called out as he summoned his Keyblade.

"This calls for a celebration..." Xemnas's voice announced.

"No thanks, Mansex!" Vanitas called out.

Despite (or maybe because of) Vanitas's insult, Dusks appeared on the lower steps. Donald and Goofy ran off to fight them, just as Leon reached the archway with his Gunblade in hand. The three humans were about to follow the animals before more Dusks appeared. They followed the Dusks into the bailey, and shut the gate to keep them from escaping into town. The three stood back to back to back as more Dusks appeared on the opposite side of the gate as well.

The Dusks all started moving to the gate to attack with weird strikes from their hands, but the three warriors fought them off. Between Sora's many, many combo attacks with his Keyblade, Vanitas's graceful yet deadly slashes with his katana, and Leons brutal and wicked slashes with his gunblade, the Dusks were all destroyed in a matter of minutes.

With the Dusks destroyed, a Samurai and some Creepers appeared on the opposite side of the room. Leon didn't hesitate by shooting a blast from his Gunblade at the Samurai, before Sora got in some stance with it that Vanitas didn't understand. He then quickly slashed through it, which destroyed the Samurai and half the Creepers. Three more Samurai then appeared, and Vanitas battled one real katana to magic katana.

During his attacks, Vanitas grabbed the Nobody katana and pulled it out of the monster's hand. He twirled around, taking out both the Samurai and a Creeper with one slash from the sword, which then disappeared, which he shrugged off. Sora kept up his combo attacks with the remaining Nobodies, and with the help of Leon's awesome weapon, they slashed apart the remaining Samurai and Creepers.

Four more Dusks appeared, and Sora finally decided it was time to use Blizzard again after a year. While Leon blasted the Nobodies with his Gunblade once again, Vanitas blasted fire from his sword at the monsters, while Sora did more combo attacks then shot the ice magic. Once the last Dusk was destroyed, no more Nobodies appeared, so Sora and Vanitas ran out the archway and onto the top area of the stairs.

"The Keyblade... a truly marvelous weapon," Xemnas's voice announced. "Were it only in more... capable hands..."

The sound of many men laughing then reverberated with Xemnas's.

"Show yourselves!" Sora called out.

"Right now!" Vanitas elaborated, pulling out his old M4 assault rifle.

Darkness then surged on top of a wall, and the hooded form of Xemnas appeared. The man looked up and raised his arms, which somehow still didn't reveal his face. Donald and Goofy ran up to join their friends as the hooded forms of Xigbar, Xaldin, Saïx, Demyx, and Luxord appeared to stand with their leader. Xemnas lowered his arms and looked down at the quartet.

"Organization XIII!" Goofy announced.

"Good," Sora announced after nodding to his friends. "Now we can settle this!"

"You really think it'll be that easy?" Vanitas asked his lookalike, with one eyebrow cocked up.

"What a shame..." Xemnas announced. "And here I thought we could be friends."

The five others laughed at their leader's joke before darkness surrounded them, making them teleport away.

"Stop!" Donald announced.

"They're already gone," Vanitas told the mallard as he turned towards the stairs and started running to them.

Darkness then surged in front of the stairs, and the hooded form of Xigbar appeared, stopping them in their tracks. Vanitas just raised his rifle and cocked it at the man while Donald looked up in confusion to where the Organization members were and where the man was now standing.

"What's the big idea!?" Donald demanded.

"Oopsy-daisy!" Xigbar taunted.

"Move!" Sora demanded.

"Dude, the others are already gone," Vanitas informed him. "This old pirate moving anywhere won't do us any good."

"See, now there's someone in your group that's got some brains," Xigbar announced.

"Shut the hell up," Vanitas announced, pointing his rifle right at the Number II of the Organization's head. "Or I'm gonna put a new hole in your head."

"Now, do you think that's polite, shutting me down like that?" Xigbar asked. "You can talk all you want, but that won't change a thing."

"You never really were one to listen to reason, huh, Xigbar?" Vanitas asked.

"We'll _make_ you stop talking, instead!" Donald announced as he and the others got in their battle stances.

"See, that would work... _if_ I were just any old dude," Xigbar admitted.

"Emphasis on 'old'," Vanitas joked, making his friends laugh.

"'Cept I'm not," Xigbar growled at the ravenette. "I'm with the Organization. And like you learned, Vanitas, that means there's nothing 'any old' about me."

"Despite the obvious old age," Vanitas pointed out.

"Tough talk for someone who stood on the sidelines while his Nobody flunkies did all the fighting!" Sora snapped at Xigbar.

"Oh, dear," Xigbar said, placing his hands on his hips and waving one finger up like Sora made a mistake. "I think you got the wrong impression."

"Possibly the only time I'm ever gonna agree with you," Vanitas admitted, looking from Xigbar to Sora. "They're a lot more powerful than they appear to be."

"Why don't I remind you how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is?" Xigbar asked Sora.

"Remind me?" Sora asked in confusion.

That confused Vanitas as well. There was a chance Xigbar was talking about Roxas, but what if he wasn't? He had already put together that maybe Roxas looked exactly like Ventus was because there was some connection between the older blonde and Sora. And he did remember seeing snippets involving Xigbar and Ventus together in his memories, from back when the man was Braig. Could he be talking about Ventus as well?

Sora didn't have any of that confusion running through his head as he frowned at Xigbar, which caused the man to start laughing.

"That's _right_ , he used to give me that same exact look," Xigbar announced. "Not you, V, the other guy."

"I guess you think you can psych me out by saying really random stuff!" Sora remarked.

"Gee..." Xigbar said. "I just don't know."

He moved his arms to the sides in wonder as Sora, Donald, and Goofy remained in their battle stances. Vanitas kept his rifle raised, but he knew it still wouldn't have much affect. After a few seconds, Xigbar lowered his arms and pointed at Sora.

"Be a good boy now!" he announced before darkness started to surge around him.

Vanitas fired his rifle at the disappearing man while Donald exclaimed "Wait!" He ran forwards and lunged at the surging darkness, but just ended up landing on his face.

"Really wish bullets had more of an effect on these guys," Vanitas admitted.

"Nuts!" Donald exclaimed. "He got away!"

"That was weird," Sora commented. "If not V, _who_ gave him the same look?"

"There's... a couple of options," Vanitas admitted.

"Y'know, I think he was just trying to confuse ya guys," Goofy remarked.

"Yeah, you're right," Sora agreed. He pointed to himself with his free thumb. "Only one me!"

 _Dude, you have no idea_ , Vanitas thought as he put his rifle away.

Leon walked out of the bailey and towards them as Sora brought his membership card back out and held it up into the air. He announced, "The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member..." Then the card started to glow, to everyone's surprise and confusion. Light then appeared at the end of Sora's Keyblade, and the four off-worlders got an idea of what it meant.

"What's this?" Leon asked.

"Gawrsh, ya think...?" Goofy started to ask.

The others stepped out of the way as Sora held his Keyblade in both hands and looked down at it. Light then gathered in a large, see through sphere at the end, and then the design of a crown appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. Light then shot out of the membership card and up into the air, which formed a Keyhole. Sora jumped back, swung his Keyblade around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

"Ohh... now I get it," Sora said, lowering his Keyblade as the surprise started to disappear from Leon's face. "That must've been the gate Yen Sid talked about."

"Oh, boy!" Donald exclaimed in excitement.

Sora and Vanitas turned towards Leon apologetically.

"Sorry to run, Leon," Sora told him. "But other worlds are calling."

"They need our help," Vanitas announced.

Leon nodded his head in understanding, remembering their previous quest.

"Organization XIII..." he said in thought. "They look tough. Be careful out there."

"When are we not?" Vanitas asked while the other three nodded their heads. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Actually, don't answer that."

"See you soon," Sora told the other brunette.

Leon gave a slight smile and wave good-bye before they started making their way back to the ship, ready for the next stage of adventure...

And hopefully an explanation for Vanitas about why he could suddenly start feeling things again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was nice writing about the Hollow Bastion gang again. Leon being the leadership type, Aerith being supportive of them, Cid being the mechanic, and Yuffie being... Yuffie. Makes me eager for the later chapters and installments, which will thankfully include Cloud, Tifa, and more of Vanitas/Yuffie. Oh, and for those wondering why Vanitas is slowly getting feelings back, well... it isn't exactly pleasant. You'll find out more later


	4. Fields of Honor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang travels to a new world where they meet someone they knew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Around this point of the Timeline, they were apparently under a lot of pressure to finish before KHIII came out, which makes sense. They were only at the beginning of II at the beginning of December, with a whole 'nother month and a half before III came out. They did two worlds an episode, which means they went from half an hour long to a whole damn hour. I think it's pretty safe to say this story is probably gonna end up beating out the Days story as the longest

They didn't have to travel through the Lanes Between for too long before another world appeared on their radar. A place called The Land of Dragons appeared on the computer, which they flew towards pretty quickly. They landed the ship and walked through a bamboo forest, confirming they were in a place that resembled China. As they walked down a pathway, Goofy looked around in slight worry, and the others followed his gaze as it found something.

The path on their right led to a small campsite where a young woman with her hair tied back wearing armor stood with a worried expression as she looked up at the shadow imprint of a large dragon on a big rock in front of her.

"A Heartless?" Donald whispered to Sora, who crouched down to hear.

"Guys, this world is called 'The Land of Dragons'," Vanitas reminded them. "You know what that means? It means we're gonna be meeting some dragons. Like that tattoo I had?" He furrowed his eyebrows and looked up in thought. "Why'd I cut that off, again?"

"Let's get the jump on 'im," Sora announced, and Donald looked like he agreed.

"Gawrsh, maybe we should look before we leap," Goofy pointed out.

"Man's got a... point," Vanitas tried pointing out, but Sora and Donald were already making their way down the path. "For a teenage boy and a duck in his 80's, they aren't the brightest." *** _1_ ***

The two of them ran after Sora and Donald, with the former of the two exclaiming in threat as they ran into the small area. A small red dragon screamed in surprise and jumped into the woman's arms, and they crouched down in hiding. Sora and Donald stopped as the quartet realized they recognized the dragon.

"Is that Mushu?" Goofy asked.

"That's right, I know you heard of me!" Mushu announced, popping his head out but not realizing he knew these three. "I'm little, lethal, and legendary! Now ya'll scram before get my dragon dander up!"

"Hey, Mushu!" Sora happily greeted. "We missed you!"

"Yeah, well, you better _hope_ I miss _you_ ," Mushu announced. "Or else you're..." He looked up and finally realized who it was. "You're... Sora! Vanitas! Donald! Goofy!"

"Do you know them?" the woman asked, looking up as Mushu jumped up onto her shoulders.

" _Know_ them?" Mushu asked as he climbed down onto the ground and started walking towards the quartet. "Man, we used to kick all kinds of bad guy butt together! Yeah, you know, I helped these guys out of a lot of spots. 'Cause I'm a mighty dragon! Right?"

He leaned against Sora's leg, as the woman looked up curiously at the four. Sora moved his leg, and the dragon fell down onto the ground in a roll.

"Something like that," Sora chuckled.

"He _did_ help us out in some tight spots," Vanitas admitted, remembering their battle against Kurt Zisa, and the sleights Sora did with the Mushu card back in Castle Oblivion.

"And, you are?" Sora asked the woman.

"I'm Mulan," the woman announced, standing up. She coughed as if she realized something and started trying to speak in a deeper voice. "Um, no, I-I mean..."

"Ping!" Mushu announced, pointing up in the air.

"Mulan Ping?" Donald asked, crossing his arms in confusion.

"Just... Ping," "Ping" announced. "I am Ping, son of Fa Zhou."

"Right..." Vanitas said, wondering whether the woman was pretending for something, or if she was transgender but hadn't finished the operation yet. Honestly, it could be either or with this galaxy.

"You know Mushu?" Sora asked.

"Mushu's one of my family's guardians," "Ping" told them.

"We didn't know we were borrowin' somebody as important as a family guardian," Goofy remarked.

"Yeah, that's right!" Mushu announced, pointing at the four in an accusatory manner, to their surprise. He then jumped up onto "Ping's" shoulders. "And that puts you four up to your eyebrows in debt to Ping here. Well, guess what, kiddies? It's payback time!"

"Mushu..." "Ping" whispered to the dragon on her shoulder.

"Ah, they don't mind," Mushu told her. "Ain't that right?"

"Hmm, sounds fair," Sora admitted.

"See, Ping here was just on his way to join the Imperial army," Mushu informed them. "We gotta go find the other recruits over at the training camp."

_Okay, so we're definitely not in a time frame for transgender people_ , Vanitas thought. _Although, there might still be men in women's bodies and vice versa._

"Would you join us?" "Ping" asked.

"Sounds easy enough," Vanitas admitted.

"Great," "Ping" said. "It'll be easier to fit in if I'm with guys, like you."

"What do you mean, 'fit in'?" Sora asked.

"Well, um, uh, don't... don't worry about that," Mushu told them.

"You're pretending to be a boy, aren't ya?" Goofy asked.

"Oh, now I get it," Vanitas remarked. "This happened back on my world during World War II, women dressed up as guys to fight in the war. *mutters* I guess we're in a feminist movie. I swear this has happened to me before..."

Sora and Donald jumped up in surprise and exclaimed in realization.

"You're a...girl?" Sora asked.

"You didn't notice?" Mulan asked, slight embarrassment in her voice despite her smile.

"Not me," Sora admitted as he and Donald shook their heads.

"I think it's working," Mulan told Mushu, looking up at the dragon.

"I don't know; those two would fall for anything," Mushu pointed out.

"You're not wrong about that," Vanitas remarked as the woman started walking down the path.

"I'm right here!" Sora exclaimed.

"Hey!" Donald added before they started making their way down the path.

They walked down the path and out of the forest into the training camp for the army, through a set of walls and many tents set up. They started walking towards where a line was set up, and Vanitas looked back to see Mulan walking in a pretty weird looking way, even compared to his standards.

"No, don't... don't do that," Vanitas told her. "Literally nobody walks like that."

Mulan stopped and started walking like a normal person, and Sora walked up to the end of the line and stood in place.

"'Bout time we got some grub," a shorter man announced as he pushed Sora aside and stood in his place in line.

"Hey, no cutting!" Sora announced.

"Get out!" Donald added.

The short man, who they could see had a black eye, instead turned around and punched Sora in the face, knocking him down. Donald grumbled for a second before he jumped up and tackled the man to the ground. Vanitas joined in and helped Donald wrestle with the man against the ground, exclaiming in anger along the way as Mulan and Goofy watched in worry.

"Hey, a space in line!" a thinner man announced before pushing the short man and Donald aside. A larger, overweight man then knocked them both aside.

"I wonder what they're serving for lunch today," the overweight man announced.

"Knuckle sandwiches!" the shorter man announced before lunging at the thinner man.

Donald yelled out in anger as Vanitas exclaimed, "That's it, pricks!" Sora followed them up as they started brawling with the shorter man and the thinner man. Vanitas put the short man in the headlock with one arm and punched him in the face repeatedly while Sora yanked on the man's hair bun. The thinner man and Donald were in sea of succession where the thinner man lunged at the mallard, Donald dodged, then jumped up and down repeatedly on the man's back. They all kept this up for quite a while, with Sora, Donald, and Vanitas doing quite well against these idiots, until...

"Please!" Mulan announced.

Sora, Vanitas, and Donald had gotten off the two and were now preparing to face them, but all of their attentions were drawn to Mulan, with the short man and the thin man looking at her in surprise.

"Please!?" the thin man exclaimed.

"What a girl!" the short man insulted before getting punched in the face one more time by Vanitas.

"Uh...knock it off!" Mulan exclaimed, with her voice deeper again.

"Knock what off?" the shorter man asked, and Vanitas couldn't tell if he was actually confused or not.

"You punched me!" Sora exclaimed.

"Cutting in line!" Donald elaborated.

"What a shrimp!" the thinner man laughed.

"Motherfucker..." Vanitas growled out, reaching into his sling for any weapon.

"Who you callin' a shrimp, panda lips?" Mushu exclaimed from on Mulan's shoulder. "I'm a bona fide guardian dragon!"

Mulan stuffed him back in so he was hidden and once again put on an authoritative manner. "L-Let's just get back in line, okay?"

"Whose side are you on?" Sora asked. "I just got slugged!"

"Want some more?" the shorter man asked.

"You want a knife in your back?" Vanitas asked.

They prepared to fight once again, but they stopped when a much more authoritative voice called out, "Soldiers! Get back in line!"

They looked to the side to see a man in armor with a cape over his shoulder and a sword in a sheath at his waist walking towards them.

"The Captain!" one of the soldiers exclaimed.

They all then moved back in line, with the three others in the front, and Sora, Vanitas, Donald, Goofy, and Mulan behind them. The man looked over the new recruits, then walked back down to the side. Sora once again looked angrily towards the shorter man, but then he exclaimed in surprise as Shadows appeared nearby. The five got out their weapons as the Shadows faced them.

"What are they?" Mulan asked.

"Heartless!" Sora answered.

"Oh, yeah?" the thin man asked before he and the other two ran off.

"Ping, I hope you're ready!" Sora announced.

Sora launched up Thunder which had no effect on the Shadows which had already went down into the ground. Once they came back up, the others went to attack, Sora with his Keyblade, Mulan with her sword, Goofy with his shield, and Vanitas with his spear. Once a couple of the Shadows were gone, a Heartless that looked like a mage appeared, and Sora jumped up to attack with an aerial combo, while Vanitas jabbed at it with the point of his spear. Donald kept up the Thunder magic at the Shadows before another mage appeared. After a few more attacks from each member of the group, the Heartless were all destroyed.

They then gathered in front of the Captain, named Shang, in front of a tent.

"You four," Shang announced, looking prominently at the off worlders.

"Sora." "Vanitas." "Donald." "Goofy." they all took turns introducing themselves.

"You're welcome in my troop," Captain Shang announced. "Your battle skills are encouraging."

"Thanks," Vanitas smiled.

Mulan started to say, "I am the son of Fa Zhou..."

"You should return home," Shang interrupted her.

"B-but..." Mulan said. "That would dishonor my family!"

"You'd rather dishonor my troops?" Shang asked.

"Don't make me...!" Mulan started to say and get in a fighting stance.

However, after the group looked at her, she lost her nerve and got back in place.

"If Ping trains hard and does his best, he'll get stronger in no time," Sora promised.

"Hmm..." Shang said in thought.

"Just give us an assignment!" Sora announced. "We'll show you how well we can work together."

"Yeah, we can do it," Vanitas added while the others nodded their heads in agreement.

"So...you want to be tested?" Shang asked. He closed his eyes in thought then looked at them. "Our orders are to ambush Shan-Yu's army on their way here. They should be coming through the mountain pass."

"We'll smash them!" Donald assured him.

"I doubt that," Shang remarked. "You five will be the advance party. Scout the mountain for my troops."

"That's it?" Sora asked, placing his hands on the back of his head. "No problem."

"Sounds easy enough," Vanitas agreed.

"Right?" Sora asked Mulan.

"R-right," Mulan said, looking down.

"I'll brief you on the details when you're ready," Shang told them. "Inform me when you're ready to depart. Remember, the smallest mission may have the greatest purpose. Stay alert!"

"Sir!" the five announced in perfect unison.

They did three missions where they had to fight Heartless. Two groups, they fought in the entrance to the mountain overpass, then one invading the camp site. With not that much difficulty, they managed to take the groups of enemies out pretty easily before they reported back to Shang, getting some praise from the man each time they finished a mission.

"You did well," Shang praised once they finished all the missions.

"I knew it!" Sora exclaimed.

"Captain..." Mulan started to say.

"I suppose you've made a little progress..." Shang admitted.

"Not a little... a lot!" Donald corrected the man.

"No," Mulan told the duck before looking up at Shang once again. "You're right, Captain. Please give me one more assignment. This time, I'll show you what I'm really made of!"

"I'll give you one more chance," Shang announced. He turned towards the group as a whole. "See me when you're ready to depart. Remember, this may be a test, but it's still an important mission. Be alert!"

"Sir!" the five announced in perfect unison once again.

The five then started their trek through the mountains right at the entrance, with Heartless appearing around them. It didn't take them that long. They fought through Soldiers, the weird looking mages, and even centaur Heartless that Vanitas recognized from some missions with Roxas. Sora and Vanitas smashed through giant piles of rocks in their way with the Keyblade and his sledgehammer, clearing the way for the soldiers at the camp to come through after them. After they did that, the five stopped at the entrance of the path up the mountain, and stopped to wait for the other troops.

They didn't have to wait long, as the short man, overweight man, and thin man came towards them wearing their helmets.

"Hey, you ain't half bad," the short man complimented.

"A man among men!" the thin man added.

_These guys have_ no _idea_ , Vanitas thought with a laugh, which Sora heard in his head.

"Thanks!" Mulan told the men.

The men started walking up the path ahead of them while Mulan looked down in sadness.

"But the captain..." she said in thought.

"Captain!" Sora announced, looking past Mulan.

Mulan looked up with the others to see Captain Shang walk up to them with two other soldiers behind him.

"Ping sure did great!" Goofy informed the man.

"You bet he did!" Donald added.

"Hmm..." Captain Shang hummed in thought. "Fine. I'll let you join my troops. But I'm still not convinced you have what it takes to be a worthy soldier."

"Why not!?" Sora exclaimed.

"It's all right, Sora," Mulan assured the boy. "I'll find a way to show him what I'm made of. Just give me a chance."

"That's the spirit, Ping," Shang assured.

"Sir!" Mulan replied.

They kept going up the path up the mountain and into a village with snow along the entire area. Surprisingly, Sora seemed okay despite the fact that he was wearing a short sleeve and shorts. The five of them went off next to a building, and Mushu hopped out to explain something to them.

"Okay, girl!" he announcced. "Here's your chance! I just saw this real shady guy. And I know it's Shan-Yu."

"Shan-Yu!?" Mulan asked in surprise as they all jumped at the news.

"That's the Hun Leader!" Sora remarked. "We've got to tell the Captain!"

"Right!" Mulan agreed.

"Waaait wait-wait-wait WAIT!" Mushu told them. "Everybody use their heads a sec." Sora, Donald, and Goofy made expressions showing they were doing exactly that. "Now, why are we here? To make the Captain see Mulan's... I mean, Ping's talents and bring honor to her family."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy nodded their heads in agreement, and Vanitas was wondering what the dragon was thinking.

"So, let's go find out where Shan-Yu is, by ourselves," Mushu announced. "Then, if we're lucky, we can fry him up good! Though just tracking the guy down should earn us our stars... Captain Musclehead will have to notice my girl!"

"Hang on, is that a good idea?" Vanitas asked. "I mean, I get we're trying to make her look good for this, but there's such thing as going too far. This might be a mistake."

"No, no, I'm sure it'll be all right," Mushu assured. "After all, we know what we're doing, so we should be able to do it."

The off worlders sighed out and looked over at Mulan, knowing the option was hers.

"Okay," she decided. "Let's go."

"All right," Vanitas relented. "Whatever you say."

"Now we're cookin'!" Mushu exclaimed. "Shan-Yu is in a cave right outside the village!"

The five nodded their heads at that and ran through the back wall of the village. They found the cave entrance and walked down the caves and down into a large circular shaped cave, with a lot of candles lit up around the area, along with an alter across from the entrance.

"Dead end," Vanitas announced as they looked around the room.

"There's nobody here..." Donald said in thought.

"You're crazy," Mushu denied. "Check again!"

"Oh, well..." Donald muttered.

The mallard turned towards the exit and started walking towards it.

"Wait for me, Donald!" Goofy announced.

The two walked over to the exit, and Sora and Vanitas turned towards their friends.

"Hey, wait up!" Sora announced.

The two of them walked into the cave pathway, but then the room started rumbling around the remaining three (four, counting Mushu?) inside.

"What? What is it?" Mushu asked at the same time Mulan asked, "Huh?" All the while they looked around in confusion.

A familiar barrier then came up in the entrance of the chamber, blocking the three of them off from Donald and Goofy.

"Sora!" Donald exclaimed at the same time Goofy exclaimed, "Ping!"

Vanitas was able to briefly sense a dark presence nearby, before it disappeared. He was about to say something before Heartless appeared in the center of the room. Shadows, along with another large centaur, were facing off against them. Sora summoned his Keyblade, Mulan pulled out her sword, and Vanitas pulled out his sledgehammer.

Mulan started by slashing her sword at the Shadows while Sora started using combo attacks against the centaur. Vanitas flashed fire at Shadows before he slammed his sledgehammer into the centaur with Sora. After a few combos and hits with the sledgehammer, the centaur was completely demolished. They then joined Mulan with the Shadows, and Sora's new way to use Fire came in handy when the Shadows surrounded him.

Halfway through taking out the Shadows, even more appeared in the chamber. They kept up their attacks, eventually taking them all out. Pretty easily, actually, since they were just a bunch of Shadows.

With the Shadows destroyed, two centaurs then appeared in the center of the room. When those two appeared, Sora made the smart move by keeping his distance and attacking with Blizzard. Vanitas followed his friend's example by shooting fireballs from a distance as they took out one centaur before the second one. With Sora's combos, Vanitas's sledgehammer, and Mulan's sword, they managed to finish off the last remaining Heartless.

Once they were all destroyed, the three regrouped in the center.

"Nice fighting, Ping!" Sora congratulated her. "You were amazing."

"Total bad ass," Vanitas assured, although he wondered why they didn't refer to Mulan by her real name even when they were alone.

The barrier then came down, and Donald and Goofy walked towards them.

"You okay?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah, thanks to Ping," Sora assured them.

"Plus, it was mostly Shadows," Vanitas remarked. "Easy peasy."

"C'mon!" Mushu announced. "Time to report to the Captain!"

"But Shan-Yu wasn't here," Mulan pointed out as they all looked up at the dragon.

"Please!" Mushu announced. "That Hun is old news! We're gonna tell the Captain how thousands of Heartless stormed the cave, and Ping took out almost every one of 'em!"

_Well, I don't mind lying to people_ , Vanitas thought as they made their way through the passage again.

They walked out of the cave and widened their eyes at the sight in front of them. The village was burned down and the walls were destroyed. They walked into the smoking remains and looked around to see if there were any survivors. What they found was Captain Shang leaning against the slightly burned brick wall.

"Captain!" Mulan exclaimed as the man weakly tried pushing himself to his feet.

They ran towards him as he breathed in and out, holding his side in pain.

"Don't overdo it, Captain!" Sora told him.

"I've gotten worse wounds than that," Vanitas remarked. "Take it easy, man."

"It's just a scratch," Shang denied.

The man then collapsed slightly, still breathing in and out in pain.

"Captain, the enemy!" Mulan announced. "Where did they go?"

"They went toward the summit..." Shang told them, looking towards the path out of the village.

"We'll stop them!" Mulan assured him. 

"It kinda is our fault," Goofy admitted, scratching the side of his head in embarrassment.

"Right," Mulan muttered as she looked down.

Mushu walked down on the ground, looking down in shame with his eyes closed.

"You mean _my_ fault," he corrected them.

"Uh-uh!" Donald denied.

"Shan-Yu and the Heartless did this, not us!" Sora assured them. He and Vanitas kneeled down to face the man. "Captain, if you track down the villagers, we'll handle this."

"We got this," Vanitas assured the man.

They stood up and Sora looked around at the burned town, angry at the enemies that had done this.

"Let's go," Sora announced.

"We've got some bastards to take out," Vanitas added.

They went through the mountain overpass and walked up onto the summit. High above them on the circular area, a man stood looking down at them, with an even larger part of a mountain next to him. A brown bird flew over them and ran up towards the man they guessed was Shan-Yu, and landed on his shoulder. Heartless that looked like machines with helicopter blades on them then appeared near him all around on the mountain loop.

The group exclaimed in surprise as they saw that the many Heartless that were shaped sort of like beaks looked down at them. They took out their weapons, with Vanitas pulling out his machete.

"Attack!" Shan-Yu announced, raising his sword in readiness.

The Heartless flew down in an attack, with more of them flying down after them. Seemingly a hundred flew down at the group, with even more after those groups.

This battle took a while.

Sora did the usual aerial combo attacks, along with special attacks where he spun in a circle slashing his Keyblade as the Heartless surrounded him. Goofy did usual jumping attacks while throwing his shield up into the air, occasionally throwing his shield at Vanitas, who used it with his aerial attacks as well. Donald did the usual blasting magic, particularly Thunder, while Mulan slashed her sword at Heartless that floated down to her level. *** _2_ ***

They took their time with fighting the Heartless, which was necessary since they had to take them all out. After a good, long, while, all the Heartless were destroyed, now leaving the air clear. With all the enemies defeated, the five regrouped in the center of the summit.

Far above them on the higher mountain crest, Shan-Yu was looking down at them with Heartless still on either side of him, and his bird flying around over his head. He raised his sword and yelled out in defiance before he started running down towards them, Heartless flying behind him.

Sora and Vanitas gasped in surprise at the approaching enemies, who were getting closer and closer to the summit. The three soldiers they knew, the overweight man, short man, and thin man then walked out, with the short man carrying a launcher.

"Stand back!" he announced.

"We'll handle this!" the thin man added.

The short man crouched down and lifted the launcher up, so it was pointed right at Shan-Yu. Mulan gasped slightly as she got an idea.

"Sorry!" she told the short man as she pushed him aside, taking the blaster for herself.

Mulan ran up the summit a bit with Mushu on her shoulder. She planted it in the snow, and pointed it up at the higher mountain above them rather than at Shan-Yu. Vanitas figured out what the plan was, and he approved greatly.

Mulan looked around to see if she could find a match. Seeing Mushu, she grabbed at him, even as he tried running away. She pulled on Mushu's tail, making him breathe fire on the launcher, before he fell onto the projectile. Mulan covered her ears as the projectile exploded, firing up into the air.

"You're going the wrong way!" Mushu bellowed in fear as the projectile he was riding flew right towards the mountain.

Vanitas exclaimed in excitement as the launcher exploded right against the mountain, causing the snow to start falling down in an avalanche.

"Yes!" Mulan exclaimed.

"Captain?" Sora asked in confusion, looking towards the entrance of the summit.

The man was walking towards them with two other soldiers.

"Look out!" Mulan exclaimed as she started running towards them.

The avalanche covered all the Heartless and eventually Shan-Yu, before it continued it's path down towards the heroes. Mulan dragged Shang towards a safe area before they were joined by the screaming forms of everybody else on the mountain. The avalanche continued to flow down the summit and eventually over the edge, off the area itself.

Once all the snow stopped rushing over the edge, Vanitas helped up his friends.

"You guys all right?" he asked Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"A little cold," Sora admitted, scratching the back of his head. "But I think I'll be okay."

"Where's Ping and the Captain?" Donald asked, looking around.

"Over there!" Sora announced, pointing towards where Mulan and Captain Shang were looking down at Mushu.

They started running towards the two (three, counting Mushu?), but Vanitas was the only one who saw the shame in Mulan's face and the disappointment on Shang's.

"Ping!" Sora exclaimed as they got closer. "Captain!"

They stopped as the Captain turned towards them.

"Oh boy, you're okay!" Goofy exclaimed in excitement.

"You all knew, didn't you?" Shang accused them. "You knew Ping was really a woman in disguise."

The four looked around in slight embarrassment before looking down.

_Who the hell blabbed?_ Vanitas thought, which the other three heard.

"I can't believe you lied to me," Shang told Mulan before walking past her and putting his hands on his sides in thought. "The punishment for high treason and dishonoring the Army... is death."

Mulan turned towards him with worry on her face. Shang just looked over his shoulder at them.

"Get out of my sight," he ordered. "Now. You're all dismissed."

"Ay..." Vanitas muttered, for some reason feeling great shame over being kicked out of an army.

"But Captain..." Sora said, also looking ashamed.

"My debt is repaid," Shang announced.

He walked over to his remaining troops while the off worlders walked up to the still visibly upset Mulan.

"The Emperor is waiting!" Shang announced. "Move out!"

The Captain started walking down the path, with the thin man, short man, and overweight man following, along with the extra two soldiers, who walked with visible tiredness. Mulan breathed out, looking down in shame as Mushu hopped onto her soldier with guilt on his face.

"Mulan..." he said. "I blew it."

Mulan shook her head at his claim.

After a few seconds, she removed the armor she was wearing, so she was wearing the normal robes that she had on underneath. She even untied the bun her hair was in, which made her hair fall down to her shoulders. She turned towards the off worlders and smiled at them.

"Thank you, everyone," Mulan told the four. "Sorry I got you in trouble."

"It's no big deal," Sora assured her.

"Yeah, we get in trouble like, every three days," Vanitas assured her. "We're kind of used to it."

"So Ping..." Sora started before he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I mean, uh, Mulan... what're you gonna do now?"

"Go back home," Mulan informed them as she walked towards the path out of the summit.

"Your daddy's gonna be steamed as a chicken dumpling," Mushu remarked.

"And now I want a chicken dumpling," Vanitas muttered, looking to the side in slight hunger.

Mulan looked down and sighed out, knowing Mushu was right. Sora then picked up Donald and grabbed Goofy with his other hand, as forms of hugs.

"Relax, we'll take our share of the blame," Sora assured her, with the other three nodding their heads in agreement.

"Thanks," Mulan said. "You're all wonderful friends."

They walked back down the mountain overpass, looking around as they walked, but Vanitas winced as he sensed a familiar darkness nearby. His suspicions were justified when they heard the loud sound of a man yelling out nearby. They looked over the edge of the mountain walkway they were on to see Shan-Yu standing in the snow below them, looking out at the city out in the distance, with many Heartless behind him.

"Shan-Yu!?" Mulan exclaimed in surprise.

"He's alive!" Sora remarked.

"How the hell did he survive _that_?" Vanitas asked.

"He's heading for the Imperial City!" Mulan announced. "We've got to warn Shang!"

The group nodded their heads in agreement and started running down the pathway. They went through the burned village, down the mountain pathways without snow, and down the roads towards the city. The five of them entered the large courtyard in front of the palace and ran past the many apparently exhausted soldiers towards Captain Shang and the other trio of soldiers that they knew.

"Shang!" Mulan yelled, getting the man's attention. "Shan-Yu is alive! He's heading this way!

"And why should I believe you this time?" Shang asked.

"But...she's telling you the truth!" Sora insisted.

"You know, usually after the first thing someone says something to you is a lie, you're not necessarily supposed to believe the next thing you say," Vanitas muttered to his doppelgänger. "They're not exactly as friendly as you, Donnie, and Goof."

Donald's attention was drawn to the sound of another bird calling out. He exclaimed as he pointed up at it, making everyone else look up at it. They watched as the bird flew towards one of the three parts of the palace, where Shan-Yu was standing on top of. The bird landed on his shoulder, and he smiled towards the heroes before hopping down towards the center part of the palace.

"Guard the palace!" Captain Shang announced, and the short man, thin man, and overweight man started running towards the stairs. "Do not let the enemy get anywhere near the Emperor!" He turned towards the weary soldiers, who were suddenly being covered in darkness. "That's an order!"

He jumped in surprise as the soldiers became the mage like Heartless from before. He exclaimed at the sight before Mulan, Sora, and Vanitas moved in front of him, weapons ready.

"Captain!" Sora announced. "We'll secure the courtyard, and you can save the Emperor!"

The man shot a look towards the palace, then back at the group in front of him.

"That's an order!" Donald exclaimed.

The man nodded his head at them before he ran towards the staircase and towards the palace entrance.

Luckily, it didn't take them too long to take out the Heartless. After finishing off the mages, some more of those robotic like Heartless with designs of beaks, and weird ones that looked like lightning towers. Once they were done, they ran up the stairs after Shang and stood ready, seeing Shan-Yu raising his sword to the Emperor.

"Now you'll bow to me!" he ordered, before looking towards the qroup, realizing he recognized Mulan.

Shang then landed in front of him and knocked him aside, literally with his bare hands. The Captain then escorted the Emperor through the front doors, while, the other soldiers shut the door behind them. The five then moved in front of the doors with their weapons ready as Shan-Yu stood up and faced them.

"It ends now!" Mulan announced.

"Right now!" Sora and Vanitas elaborated in unison.

Shan-Yu frowned at them for a second before darkness surrounded him, and he laughed in victory.

Sora ignited Valor Form once again as Shan-Yu sent more mage like Heartless to attack the doors. Mulan attacked Shan-Yu with fire based attacks as Donald launched lightning at the Heartless. Sora then ended up in a blade battle with Shan-Yu, where he forced the man back slowly with his own weapon. After a few seconds, he forced the man back and slashed him with his Keyblade.

Vanitas took out the Heartless with Donald with his spear before helping Sora attack the man, who was using wicked combo attacks with his two Keyblades. Vanitas used his spear in twirling attacks in a similar way that he had used his BO staff, but did make sure to jab the man with the sharp points. Shan-Yu then used pretty wicked attacks with his own sword, damaging Sora quite a bit, even knocking him up in the air.

While in the air, the Drive form wore off, returning Goofy to the battle field, while Donald used Cure on the brunette. Vanitas then attacked Shan-Yu with his spear a bit more with Goofy throwing his shield at the man to add damage. Mulan kept up her fire based sword attacks before Sora once again ended up clashing swords with the man again. He forced the blade back again and slashed the man against the wall.

Sora then started a team attack with Mulan, with Vanitas joining in since it was fire based. They repeatedly charged at Shan-Yu with fire around them, knocking him into the air repeatedly, before they knocked him to the side and Mushu and Vanitas launched a lot of fire into the air. The heroes landed on the ground with Shan-Yu as fire flew down, all damaging Shan-Yu and finishing the fight.

Shan-Yu gripped his side in pain before falling down in defeat.

"Well, there's another we can add to the list of murders," Vanitas joked as Sora and Mulan smiled at each other in affirmation.

"Now, that's what I call burning some hunny-bun!" Mushu exclaimed in excitement as Donald tapped his foot at the dragon. "Aw, yeah! Mulan's the best! Mulan's the best! No, wait a minute... I'm the best! Mushu's the best! Mushu's the best!"

The group then stood facing the door, while soldiers gathered in the courtyard, and the Emperor walked towards them with Shang behind him.

"I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan," the Emperor announced, so she bowed in sadness. "You stole your father's armor, ran away from home, impersonated an Imperial soldier. You deceived your commanding officer, shamed the entire Chinese army, and dishonored your family name."

"We get the picture..." Sora admitted with embarrassment.

"You're a young woman," the Emperor continued. "And in the end..." Donald winced at that. "You have saved us all."

The Emperor bowed at them, and Mulan straightened up in shock. They looked around in confusion to see the entire army of soldiers behind them in the courtyard bowing down to them. The five exclaimed in excitement before Mulan faced the Emperor again.

"Your Excellency!" she announced.

"Captain Li?" the Emperor asked. Shang nodded his head before lifting the sword of Shan-Yu. He presented it to Mulan, who took it in her hands. "Take this, so the world will know what it is you have done for China."

_Definitely a feminist movie_ , Vanitas thought with a smirk.

"Thank you," Mulan told the Emperor with a bow.

"Mulan," Shang said to her.

"Yes?" Mulan asked.

"Sora," the Captain continued. Each person who's name he called nodded at him. "Vanitas. Donald. Goofy. Thank you."

"'Thank you'?" the Emperor asked Shang, to his surprise. "Is that all there is to say, Captain? If you wish to win the heart of Fa Mulan, China's bravest woman, you'll have to be a bit more eloquent than that!"

Vanitas started laughing with the Emperor and Mulan, while Sora placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Can I get an autograph?" he joked.

"Thanks for everything, Sora," Mulan told him.

_Sure, the rest of us just stood to the side and let him do everything_ , Vanitas sarcastically thought, which Donald and Goofy heard.

"Now they _gotta_ let me go back to bein' a guardian!" Mushu exclaimed. "They **gotta**!"

"But Mushu, I thought you already _were_ a family guardian!" Goofy pointed out.

"What?" Mushu asked before laughing in embarrassment. "Oh, no, no... don't even worry about that, that's just real technical. Just for us guardians."

"You were demoted and this was your last chance to become a guardian again, weren't you?" Vanitas asked.

"You tricked us!" Sora exclaimed.

"Hmm? Oh, uh..." Mushu said in worry as he saw the anger in Sora's face. He then turned and started running trying to say a good enough explanation as Sora chased him.

Mulan smiled at the sight slightly before she realized the sword in her hand was glowing. It then floated up into the air, getting Sora's attention. He was confused for a second before he summoned his Keyblade and held it in both hands.

Once again, light then gathered in a large, see through sphere at the end, and then the design of a crown appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. Light then shot out of the sword and up into the air, which formed a Keyhole. Sora jumped back, swung his Keyblade around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

"Okay!" Donald exclaimed in excitement.

"Guess it's about time to be movin' in," Goofy announced.

"I'm a little surprised at how nonchalant everyone here is about what just happened," Vanitas muttered to Goofy. "But, I guess with a talking dragon that's a foot tall, people have seen weirder."

"You shall be missed," the Emperor announced.

"Is it okay if we come back to visit?" Sora asked with a smile.

"Of course!" Mulan assured them.

"We will look forward to your return," Shang informed them.

"You two place nice," Sora told them with a smirk before turning and leaving.

"Whoa..." Shang jumped in surprise, looking from Mulan back to Sora. Mulan placed her hands on her cheeks, still smiling. "Watch it, soldier!"

Shang looked at her once more before looking to the side in embarrassment. Mulan continued smiling as Mushu climbed up onto her shoulder once again.

"Good-bye, Sora, V, Donald, Goofy!" she called out.

"Let's go find some chicken dumplings," Vanitas instructed as they walked down the stairs.

The other three laughed as they continued their walk, content with a job well done on the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Donald literally is in his 80's. His first cartoon was back in 1934, which makes him 86. Another moment of Vanitas breaking the fourth wall
> 
> *2 It didn't really make a lot of sense for the other party members to just disappear during that fight, so I just made them a part of it as well
> 
> Since we visit each world twice, I figure one chapter for each visit works. Of course, the later re-visits to Hollow Bastion will be split up into multiple chapters, and the World that Never was will be multiple chapters. That just makes sense, you know?


	5. Uninvited Guests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang visits a world where they run into ANOTHER old ally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Celene did make a good point, after everything that happened in the last few chapters of the last story, Vanitas probably can't have a very good psyche at this point. So, I experiment with that a bit at the beginning...

During the next flight during the Lanes Between, Vanitas sipped down some sleeping potion, since he hadn't had a moment of rest ever since before the other three had woken up yet, so he spent the next few minutes on the ship in a peaceful sleep. Well, it was peaceful at first...

As they flew away from the last surge of Heartless ships in the vortex, Sora, Donald, and Goofy expressed their worries about their amnesiac, anemic, ravenette ally.

"What do you guys think might have happened that made him cry?" Sora asked.

"What do you think might be actually _letting_ him cry?" Donald added.

"Maybe lots of stuff happened to him while we were sleepin'," Goofy suggested. "During that time, maybe he found some friends that helped him a bit. But maybe... somethin' happened to 'em."

They stopped their theories as they heard the sound of the friend they were talking about muttering in his sleep. They looked over at the ravenette, who was sitting in his chair and using his torso robe as a blanket. He gripped his robe tightly and shook in desperation.

"No..." Vanitas denied in his sleep. "No, no, no... _Guys_..."

Unbeknownst to the trio, he was having dreams about his last few days with Roxas and Xion. He saw the battle between Roxas and Xion, followed by the battle between Roxas and Riku, complete with Xion fading away and Roxas being taken by the transformed Riku and DiZ... Er, Ansem the Wise.

"No..." Vanitas denied again as the other three watched in worry. "No... NO!!!"

He gasped awake and breathed in and out, looking down.

That was one of the worst dreams he had had about it in the last few days. Even with the sleeping potion and seeing visions of enemies tinkering with his friends, nothing was worse than once again seeing people he cared about greatly being taken from him, especially like this.

"V..." Sora said, getting his attention. "What was that about?"

He didn't know how to explain it. On one hand, Vanitas remembered how expressing sorrow with others was a helpful way to get over it. On the other hand, expressing that sorrow would require breaking that requirement to Riku, because he didn't know how to explain it all without explaining what the silver haired boy did.

But in the end, he wasn't even ready to express what even was causing him sorrow. Not yet, anyway. It was still too fresh.

"I... saw an episode of Doctor Who in my dreams that really made me sad," Vanitas told them. "Poor Adric..." *** _1_ ***

The other three shared a look, understanding that this lie from the ravenette was just because he didn't want to talk about what was really troubling him yet. They agreed to let him go at his own pace, and looked back at the computer for the ship.

"Well, pull yourself together," Donald announced. "We've got a new world on the horizon."

Vanitas slipped his shirt like robe back on long with the various brown straps as they gathered around the computer to see which world it was.

"This'll certainly be interesting..." Vanitas announced, nonchalantly, as he widened his eyes.

* * *

The quartet of off worlders walked through the front doors of the castle that Vanitas recognized fro his previous missions with Roxas, with Sora closing the doors behind them. The four of them walked forwards a bit, with Donald and Goofy looking around in thought.

"Hey, what is this place?" Sora asked as he walked up to his stopped friends.

"It's a castle," Vanitas pointed out. "Obviously..."

"It's huge!" Donald exclaimed.

"That's what she said..." Vanitas muttered, in unison with the others, who already knew what he was gonna say, causing him to raise an eyebrow in surprise. Had he really gotten that predictable? *** _2_ ***

"And sorta gloomy, don't ya think?" Goofy asked.

"I've actually been here before," Vanitas informed them. "And while it's pretty gloomy, we actually know who lives here."

"Who is it?" Sora asked.

The ground then shook as a familiar, loud roar reverberated through the entrance hall they were in, surprising everyone but Vanitas.

"That should answer your question," Vanitas nonchalantly announced, pointing up at the ceiling.

"So you recognize that, too?" Goofy asked.

Sora crossed his arms and placed a hand on his chin in thought before another roar shook the room, and he put it together.

"Hey!" he exclaimed in excitement. "That's the Beast!"

Vanitas smiled, pointed at Sora with one hand, and tapped the pointer finger of his other hand on his nose in confirmation.

"Maybe we should check up on him," Goofy suggested.

"Good idea," Vanitas agreed. "There have been, like, a _lot_ of Heartless here lately, which has to have exhausted the guy."

"Did you ever go and say 'hi'?" Sora asked.

"No, I wanted it to be a complete reunion," Vanitas informed them. "I took out the Heartless for him, but wanted to wait until you guys were up and at 'em before I brought you guys around to visit. Same reason I never went to say 'hi' to Jack, Aladdin, and Hercules."

Sora's attention was then drawn to the outline of a Shadow moving along in the floor towards a nearby set of double doors, one of them slightly open.

"Look!" Sora exclaimed, gesturing to the traveling Shadow.

"C'mon!" Donald announced.

They ran to the doors, with Vanitas pulling out a handgun and pulling back the chamber in preparation.

"Hey, how come you didn't use any guns on the last world we were on?" Sora asked.

"That was Imperial China, I didn't want to freak them out," Vanitas informed him.

Donald poked his head through the doorway into the small room first, looking around warily.

"Where did it go?" he asked.

The four walked in, with Vanitas raising his gun in preparation just in case. Donald's attention was then drawn to a glass case on a table, with a rose just floating up inside it. He walked towards the table, mesmerized, and reached his arms out towards it... But then jumped in surprise as the Shadow came out of the ground in front of him.

"Found it!" Donald exclaimed in surprise.

Sora jumped in surprise as more Shadows appeared in the room. The four of them readied their weapons and gathered in a circle in the center of the room, ready to fight.

It wasn't anything special, just a lot of Shadows. They fought against them pretty easily with Sora using the usual combo attacks, along with Fire and Blizzard magic, Donald repeatedly launching up Thunder, and Goofy sliding around on or throwing his shield. Vanitas once again got to go into what he called John Wick Mode as he fired at the many Shadows with his Zigana Sport FS9 handgun, twirling around in badass moves while also using his special tricks to apprehend them before shooting them. After a little while, they backed up towards the table with the rose again, as Vanitas's handgun clicked empty.

"Aw, c'mon, enough already," Sora exclaimed in annoyance as Shadows kept appearing in front of them in the room.

"Somebody help us!" Donald yelled as Vanitas reached into his sling since his ammo pouch was empty.

"I gotta make sure that thing's full before we dock on a world," the ravenette muttered, annoyed at himself for his mistake.

The doors to the room then suddenly burst open, and the quartet exclaimed in happiness at the sight of their old friend walking through. Although, they weren't turned off by the angry look on the Beast's face since they figured it was towards the Heartless.

To be fair, they had pretty good reason to believe so. When all the Shadows started lunging at the Beast, he slashed them all with his claws, roaring out in anger as he took them all out.

"Just in time!" Sora greeted in happiness.

"How've ya been, man?" Vanitas greeted as the Beast walked towards them.

Their happiness diminished slightly when they saw that Beast wasn't paying attention to them. It disappeared completely when their old friend knocked the two of them aside with one arm, then Donald and Goofy with the other.

The four got up a bit to look at their old friend to see him pick up the case with the rose, holding it like it was his baby or something. Without even sparing a glance at his old allies, Beast walked out of the room, out of sight.

"Maybe I should have gone to say 'hi' once or twice during those excursions here," Vanitas quipped with a wince, gripping his side in pain.

The four of them stood up and walked to the center of the room, watching out the doors as Beast disappeared from sight. Donald was rubbing the side of his head in pain as Vanitas's pain disappeared after a second.

"Gee, do ya think he maybe forgot who we are?" Goofy asked.

"It's a possibility," Vanitas admitted. "That dumb memory magic probably didn't just affect the gang back at Hollow Bastion. Although, since the others remember us, you'd think he would, too."

"With this many Heartless around, something must be up," Sora suggested.

"Why'd he have to do that?" Donald asked in annoyance, still rubbing the side of his head.

Vanitas slipped some handgun clips into his ammo pouch, along with some shotgun shells, so he'd be ready for the next fight. They walked out of the room, closing the doors behind them, but Donald's attention was drawn towards the staircase above them.

"What is it?" Sora asked after the mallard stopped tapping his foot in thought.

"I just _know_ I saw a lady at the top of those stairs..." Donald told them.

They followed his gaze up to the arch for the staircase.

"Well..." Goofy said in thought. "If the Beast is here in the castle, that lady musta been Belle, right?"

"Makes sense," Vanitas remarked.

"Belle might know what's happened to the Beast, too," Sora suggested.

"C'mon!" Goofy announced. "Let's go find her!"

They went up the stairs, luckily finding no Heartless along the way. They went into the East Hallway and towards a doorway at the end of the hall. Sora stopped with the others and turned back towards Goofy.

"Shh!" he informed them, making Goofy instinctually covering his mouth with his hands.

The four of them walked towards the doors, moving along sneakily along the side towards the door, where they heard the sound of an upset woman muttering, "What am I going to do?"

Sora pointed at the door on one side with Vanitas next to him, and Donald and Goofy on the other side. Donald nodded and walked in front of the door, a few feet in front of it.

"Okay," he announced.

He then exclaimed and charged forwards.

"Donald!" "Donnie!" Sora and Vanitas exclaimed at once as the mallard charged forwards, through the easily opened doors, and fall to the ground.

"Hey!" Donald exclaimed, getting up on his hands and knees. "Who opened the door?"

In front of the fallen Duck stood Belle, wearing her long sleeved blue and white dress.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're here!" the Princess of Heart exclaimed as she picked up Donald and grabbed him in a hug. "Donald!"

The duck exclaimed his discomfort as she gripped him. Belle then looked over the mallard in her arms to the doors, seeing the other three.

"Sora!" she exclaimed. "Vanitas! Goofy!"

"Hiya," Sora said as the three of them waved at her nonchalantly.

"Put me down!" Donald exclaimed in discomfort. "Put me down!"

Belle went "Oh," in slight embarrassment, before she lowered Donald to the ground, his pupils spinning around his eyes for some reason. He shook it off and looked up at the Princess with his friends.

"Where's the Beast?" Donald asked.

"Oh, he must be in the West Wing," Belle informed them. "We don't talk like used to."

"Did something happen?" Sora asked.

"You guys seemed pretty solid together when we departed on Hollow Bastion," Vanitas remarked.

"Something did happen," Belle admitted. "Isn't that why you're here?"

The quartet shared some looks, and Sora shrugged his shoulders.

"Not exactly," Goofy admitted. "But we can still help!"

"Since we're here and all," Sora agreed as they all nodded their heads.

"So the Beast won't talk to you?" Donald asked.

"He's been acting strange lately," Belle admitted. "The only ones who might know why are locked up in the dungeon. I want to help them, but..."

"Wait a second," Sora said, placing his hands on the back of his head for some reason. "Who locked who up?"

"The Beast locked up his servants," Belle informed them.

Vanitas remembered the talking clock and candelabra he had seen with Roxas and Xion on their missions to this world. He remembered how worried for the Beast they were, and he hoped they were okay.

"But why?" Donald asked.

"That's what I don't know," Belle admitted.

"Hmm," Sora said in thought as he took his hands off of his head. "Where's this dungeon?"

"You can get through the undercroft from the West Hall," Belle explained. "The dungeon is down there."

"West Hall," Sora repeated. "Got it."

"Be careful!" Belle told them.

Sora gave her a thumbs up before they left the room.

Remembering the way, Vanitas led them through the entrance hall and into the West Hall, where they ran into little Heartless along the way. They ran down the first part of the hallway, and stopped when they reached the part they needed to take a right turn to reach the other parts.

"The way to the undercroft is just down here," Vanitas instructed, gesturing down the hallway.

He led them down the hall towards where the doorway was, and was surprised that a wardrobe was standing in front of the doors. Sora then helped him push the wardrobe so it was now only covering one door instead of both.

"Here it is!" Sora exclaimed.

A face then suddenly appeared along the top of the wardrobe, and it turned to face the duo with an angry expression, surprising the two.

"Do you MIND!?" the wardrobe, who they could tell was female, snapped.

They then stepped out of her way as she hopped back in front of the doors, and closed her eyes with a blissful smile. Sora and Vanitas waited until she seemed actually asleep before they pushed her out of the way once again, so that she wasn't covering the doors anymore. Somehow, that woke her up and calmed her down, so she turned to face the quartet.

"And I was just starting to get comfortable..." she muttered in slight disappointment before smiling at the boys. "May I help you?"

"Huh? What?" Sora asked in confusion. He looked at Vanitas, who mouthed the word "dungeon" at him. "Oh, right... Belle needs us to go to the dungeon."

"Goodness!" the wardrobe exclaimed. "You're here to help my friends? Well, why didn't you say so?"

"You were sleeping," Vanitas reminded her.

"Oh, right," she remembered. "Well, anyway, I'm sorry I startled you. Oh, I used to be human, you know, until the enchantress cast her spell. I was turned into a wardrobe when the prince was turned into a beast."

"The prince is a Beast!?" Donald exclaimed in surprise.

"The Beast is a prince!?" Goofy exclaimed in surprise.

"The who cast a what?" Vanitas asked, eyebrow raised in confusion, focusing more on the enchantress part.

"That's right," the wardrobe told them. "Although his behavior was far from princely at the time."

"What's this about a...spell?" Sora asked.

The wardrobe leaned forwards like it was a special secret. "Well, it was a cold winter's night..." Sora, Donald, and Goofy leaned forwards in eagerness, but she stood up straight and closed her eyes. "And that's enough for now. You can hear the rest when you've rescued the others. It'll give you something to look forward to."

Vanitas chuckled as the other three deflated slightly at that.

"Aww..." Donald muttered.

"Hurry, now," the wardrobe told them. "The dungeon is damp and chilly. Certainly no place for a clock!"

"A clock?" Goofy asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," the wardrobe informed them.

Sora nodded at his friends. "All right. Let's get going."

They walked through the doors and down a hallway into the Undercroft. They were in the small room that Vanitas remembered from before, which seemed like a storage place with the bookshelves and cabinets, along with two more gargoyle statues that Vanitas was sure would be revealed to be Heartless eventually. Once again, he was slightly put off by the design on the ceramic doors of creatures facing each other, complete with statue designs actually coming out of the door.

"This must be it," Sora remarked.

"Those doors always gave me the creeps," Vanitas admitted.

Donald walked up to the door and placed his ear against the keyhole design to try to listen inside. The eyes on the creatures then glowed, and Donald jumped back in surprise as the ceramic bodies glowed purple and grey. He watched in horror as the doors transformed from ceramic into actual beasts connected to the wall.

"Uh-oh!" Donald exclaimed before he ran to the others, just as the right arm slammed his hand on the ground where he stood.

The two Heartless attached to the wall then fist bumped in preparation to face the quartet. *** _3_ ***

"You think it didn't like metaphorically being fucked by keys?" Vanitas tried joking with his eyes wide to lighten the tension. It didn't work.

He pulled out his sledgehammer as the others summoned their weapons. Everyone but Donald blocked or dodged when the Heartless hands extended out and slammed into the ground. The mallard healed himself with Cure as, as Vanitas expected, the statues came to life and charged forwards in an attack. Sora and Vanitas focused more on the Thresholder, with Sora using Goofy to once again ignite Valor form.

Sora's clothes once again were coated in red, and he attacked with both Keyblades against the Thresholder, rendering it down to a stun. Sora then pointed his Keyblade right at the center, releasing a Possessor into the air. The possessed gargoyles had meanwhile knocked out Donald with their ceramic battle axes, so Sora and Vanitas finished them off before going after the Possessor.

Bat like Heartless appeared, which Vanitas blasted with fireballs before helping Sora out with the Possessor. When Vanitas sensed that they had beaten the Heartless down to half health, it flew back into the Thresholder, possessing it once again. Right as Sora went to attack it again, the arms came in front of itself and gathered dark energy in an orb. The energy hurt the brunette just as the Drive form ended, bringing Goofy back.

They kept up the attacks, Sora with his Keyblade, Vanitas with his sledgehammer, and Goofy with his shield, all the while dodging the orbs the Thresholder sent out. Once they rendered the Thresholder down to a stun again, Sora released the Possessor with his Keyblade while Goofy threw his shield at the remaining bats that had appeared. Vanitas then threw a fireball at the Possessor before Sora finished it off with Blizzard, ending the fight.

Donald finally woke up and watched with the others as the Thresholder was covered in darkness. The Possessor flew to the side a bit before it vanished into darkness. The beast forms of the Thresholder transformed into ceramic before they faded into darkness completely, reverting the doors back into normal doors.

"You think the dungeon's past this door?" Donald asked.

"Maybe," Vanitas remarked. "I never got to see past those doors."

"C'mon, we gotta set those servants free!" Goofy announced.

"He's right," Sora agreed. "Let's go."

They walked into the dungeon, to see massive piles of hay in the corners, a crate, and two chairs. On one chair was the candelabra Vanitas remembered, in the other chair was the clock, and on the box were a teapot and teacup.

"There's nobody here," Sora remarked.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Vanitas corrected him. "You remember how the wardrobe said she used to be a lady?"

"Yeah," Sora said, as Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement.

Vanitas nodded his head towards the chairs, box, and other appliances on the other side of the room, and their eyes widened in realization.

"Wait, you mean that the people we're here to rescue..." Donald said in thought, at which Vanitas nodded his head.

"Did someone say 'rescue'?" a French accent called out.

"Shhh!" an English voice told him. "Keep quiet. It might be THEM."

"Oh, they look like nice boys to me," an older female voice told them, as Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked around in curiosity.

"We are nice," Goofy announced as Sora walked forwards. "We're your friends."

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "Belle sent us to find you."

"Plus, we kind of know you guys are just sitting in front of us," Vanitas announced, looking at the appliances in front of them. "The wardrobe told us snippets about the curse."

Faces appeared on the items' faces, and they jumped off towards the four, with everyone but Vanitas exclaiming in surprise and amazement. Sora crouched down so he could see them better. Vanitas senses the candelabra was named Lumiere, the clock was named Cogsworth, the teapot was named Mrs. Potts, and the teacup was her son named Chip.

"I'm Sora," he announced. He gestured to each of his friends as he introduced them. "Vanitas. Donald. Goofy."

Donald then rushed forwards to the appliances' surprises, and picked up Cogsworth.

"...D-don't touch!" he exclaimed in the mallard's hands. "I-I am self winding, sir!"

He exclaimed and stuttered in dismay as Donald shook him around, to the equal amazement of Goofy.

"We're glad you're okay," Sora told Lumiere.

The candelabra jumped into the chair to get a better look at the teenagers. "It is _we_ who are overjoyed to see _you_."

"So somebody put a spell on you guys, too?" Goofy asked.

"Yes, that's right," Cogsworth said, as Donald finally stopped messing with him. "You've heard! It was the enchantress."

"It seems so long ago..." the candelabra said in thought.

"It was a clod winter's night..." Mrs. Potts said as Sora placed her and the teacup down on the box. "An old beggar woman came to the castle, and asked for shelter."

"But the master of this castle, that is, the prince..." Cogsworth started to say before Donald opened up his chest and started tinkering with the ticking piece inside. "Stop that! Put me down this instant!"

Donald put Cogsworth down, and he cleared his throat. "The master turned her away. All because of her, ahem, meager appearance."

"That's awful!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Oui," Lumiere agreed. "He was a spoiled prince, so selfish and... how shall I say... cruel."

"Lumiere!" Cogsworth exclaimed.

"The old woman warned our master not to be deceived by appearances..." Mrs. Potts continued. "Still, he would not take her in."

"Then the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress," Cogsworth continued.

"She turned the prince into a beast, a shape she thought fitting for his cold heart," Mrs. Potts continued.

"There wouldn't be a curse if it didn't involve some kind of lesson," Vanitas commented.

"And to further punish him, everyone in the castle was enchanted, too," Cogsworth added.

"Wow..." Sora said, placing his hands on the back of his head again. "That's quite a story."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Goofy asked.

"Let's get the enchantress!" Donald exclaimed.

"Oh, no, dear," Mrs. Potts told him.

"We already know what needs to be done, but with the master out of sorts..." Lumiere said.

"He sure is acting weird," Sora agreed, and the other three nodded their heads.

"It's almost as if he's forgotten how to trust others," Mrs. Potts commented.

"You don't suppose he's been turned into a Heartless, do you?" Cogsworth asked.

"No, that probably would have been an obvious thing to notice," Vanitas remarked. "He's probably still okay for now."

"But if they're a part of this, then it's a good thing we're here," Sora commented.

"Let's go find the Beast!" Donald announced.

"Splendid!" Cogsworth remarked.

Lumiere jumped off the chair and hopped towards the doors.

"Follow me, messieurs," he announced. "I know a shortcut."

They followed him up onto the balcony like part above the entrance of the Undercroft, and went through the doors through a secret passage, that Vanitas remembered he fought those advanced Neoshadows with his friends in. They reached the level where the exit was supposed to be, and Sora pressed in a brick, and the brick wall slid down to reveal the exit, with a staircase.

"Now, I must check on the castle," Lumiere announced. "I fear my absence has been too long."

"I'd best be off too, dears," Mrs. Potts announced.

"Watch out for Heartless," Sora warned them.

"They tend to pop out at random," Vanitas added.

Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, and Chip hopped through the passageway, and Cogsworth looked up at the other four.

"The master's room is at the very end of the west wing," he announced. "I shall go on ahead and wait for you."

They ran through the West Wing once again and then the West Hall, taking out the usual amounts of Heartless along the way. They reached the doors for the Beast's room, where they indeed found Cogsworth waiting for them.

The little group went into the room, to see the partly demolished bedroom, with an angry looking Beast with a man in an Organization coat. They grabbed their weapons and stood in their battle stances, with Vanitas pulling out his handgun again and pointing it at the Organization member.

"Long time, no see, huh, Dilan?" Vanitas asked, blandly, as he looked up at the Nobody of his old apprentice mate.

"See?" Xaldin asked Beast, ignoring Vanitas's words. "She has accomplices."

He waved his arm, and a surge of energy passed in front of the step up to the balcony, meaning it set up a barrier. Darkness then surged around Xaldin, making him disappear. With Vanitas still a little wary, the little group walked towards the Beast.

"Hey, Prince!" Sora greeted.

Beast then roared loudly at them, making them all jump in surprise.

"Oh, dear!" Cogsworth exclaimed in fear. "Master!"

"This might be a little much," Vanitas remarked, looking at the Zigana before putting it away.

Beast then lunged forwards and slashed his claws at them, and they all jumped out of the way. Beast looked back at them and roared once again, so the other three summoned their weapons again.

Sora started by using the help of Cogsworth to flash bright light in the Beast's face, stunning him for a second. Donald sent up Thunder before Goofy threw his shield. They managed to back Beast into a corner, with Sora repeatedly flashing light in the cursed man's face every few seconds, between combo attacks. Vanitas even used his telekinesis to keep him in line when he got a little restless.

"Good thing that flared up at the right time," Vanitas remarked as Beast fell onto his hands and knees in defeat. "Whoo!"

He gestured his arms out, and Goofy exclaimed in surprise as he flew through the air and smacked into a wall.

"Oh," Vanitas winced, not realizing that things were still flaring randomly with his powers. "Sorry." *** _4_ ***

While that happened, Sora sent out more light magic into Cogsworth, and they flashed light in the Beast's face once more, snapping the man out of it. He got down on his hands and knees as Cogsworth walked up to his downed head.

"Cogsworth..." Beast said as he pushed himself to his feet. "What happened?"

"Well, Master..." Cogsworth started stuttering out. "Ah, you see... that is... How shall I say... ah, actually... mmm..."

"Well, you put everybody down there in that dungeon!" Donald announced.

"I did what?" Beast asked in surprise.

"Ah... you did!" Cogsworth admitted.

"Who was that guy you were talking to?" Sora asked, as Beast looked down in shame. "The one in black?"

Beast gasped. "Xaldin." He growled. "...That's his name. He came from the darkness... He... used my anger to control me." He looked down in shame. "He took all my sorrow, my sadness, my pain... and turned it all into rage."

"There was nothing I could do..." Beast admitted, looking at his hands in shame. "I could no longer see the truth."

"That's what those pricks do," Vanitas informed him. "They try to manipulate the worst parts of people into their more dominant traits. It's not your fault, we just have to find the right way to stop them."

"Well, I'll be," Goofy remarked. "That must be why you threw all of your friends down there into the dungeon. You wanted to make sure that you didn't hurt 'em, right?"

"Was that it?" Beast asked himself. "Was it to protect them?"

"Sure," Goofy assured him. "We know you're good inside."

Sora, Donald, and Vanitas nodded their heads in agreement.

"He's right, Master," Cogsworth agreed. "We've all seen how kind you can be. After all, Belle can see the goodness in your heart, but I'm afraid you've yet to..."

"Belle!" Beast exclaimed in realization. He sighed out in shame. "I've mistreated her... I've mistreated her and been so selfish."

"She didn't say anything about that," Sora commented.

"She'd never tell anyone of my cruelty," Beast admitted, placing his hands on top of his head in thought. "She's too good."

"You see, I'm afraid he judges himself far too harshly," Cogsworth muttered to them loudly.

"Why don't you just go talk to her?" Sora suggested with a smile.

"Communication is the key, after all," Vanitas agreed with a smile of his own.

"But..." Beast said, with a little shame still in his voice.

"No excuses!" Sora exclaimed. "C'mon, we'll go with you."

They traversed through the castle once again, this time with the Beast, so he helped them fight off the various Heartless they ran into. They took out the Soldiers, Lancers, Hook Bats, and various Possessed statues along the way back to Belle's room. They entered the room to see the wardrobe, who was pleasantly surprised at the sight of Beast.

"Master!" she greeted.

"Everybody's safe now," Donald assured her.

"Wonderful!" the wardrobe exclaimed in happiness. "Thank you!"

"Where is Belle?" Beast asked her.

"Why, she left in a hurry," the wardrobe told them. "Something about going after this... man in black."

"WHAT!?" Beast bellowed angrily, causing Donald to jump up into Vanitas's arms in fear, similar to Scooby-Doo. (When Vanitas thought about it, that was an accurate description, since he was like, 90% sure Shaggy was a stoner, and he wasn't a stranger to weed.) "Why doesn't she do as she's told?"

"Temper, temper!" the wardrobe remarked, while Donald and Goofy shook in fear from their friend's rage. "Her spirit is what makes Belle so special."

"We'd better go after her!" Sora announced.

"Yeah!" Donald said with determination, as if he wasn't just afraid. He then looked up at Vanitas in annoyance. "You can put me down now!"

Vanitas countered the duck trying to act like he was all that by just dropping him onto the floor. Donald exclaimed as he hit the ground, then grumbled in annoyance as he stood back up.

They ran back into the entrance hall, and were drawn to the sounds of Belle warning something they'd be sorry. The five entered the room and found her walking out the glass door opposite them onto the balcony, and a large Darkball wrapped in chains and blue fire floated down towards it.

"I don't remember them looking like _that_ ," Vanitas remarked as he pulled out his handgun.

The Darkball turned towards them and roared out as it floated up into the air. It then flew down into the floor in the center, which then started to convert into darkness. The off worlders exclaimed in surprise, with Donald jumping up onto Goofy's shoulder in fear, as the darkness spread along the floor. The Darkball flew out once again and roared out in challenge as the darkness continued to surge around the room. Pretty soon, the floor was completely black, the columns looked like teeth, and the walls were pink and purple with shadowy designs in the windows.

The Darkball started actually fighting by flying towards the windows, absorb itself into them, and shot out purple fire. Sora, Beast, and Vanitas dodged while Donald and Goofy got damaged by it. Once the Darkball was now in the air again, Sora jumped up to start a combo attack while Vanitas fired his handgun, careful not to hit his doppelgänger. The Darkball then floated up and absorbed itself into the chandelier, crashing it onto the ground and spinning it while shooting out fire. Once it stopped, the five pressed their attacks, with Beast slashing his claws and roaring out energy, before Sora was able to release the Heartless from the chandelier.

Once the Darkball was in the air again, Sora used aerial combos, Vanitas fired his handgun, Donald shot up Thunder, and Goofy threw his shield, before the Heartless disappeared into the ground. When purple light appeared under Sora, he jumped up into the air, not falling for that trick. The Darkball then floated out into the open again, and Vanitas lobed a fireball at it with his free hand, which exploded. The Heartless then absorbed itself into one of the columns, and made them actual teeth by having all of them attack at once. Donald got knocked out while Beast shrugged off his hit. The cursed man then helped Sora and Vanitas attack the column that the Darkball was in before Sora released it again.

Sora then called upon Beast for a team attack, which Vanitas was able to join in on. The three of them lunged forwards to attack the Darkball multiple times before it floated out into the windows again and once again sent out the purple fire. They managed to dodge the fire before coming together for the final attack. Sora and Vanitas released energy with the Beast, who howled out, releasing his own energy, which finished off the Darkball.

The Darkball floated up into the center of the room, and surged a few times like it was having a seizure. It then roared out again, but then darkness covered it completely in a sphere. Vanitas could tell something was up and quickly reached for his machete. After a few seconds, the sphere burst open, and the Darkball, now transformed into the Dark Thorn, landed on the ground and roared out in defiance.

This Heartless proved it wasn't fair by turning itself invisible. It pressed its claw into the ground and sent darkness in while Sora rushed forwards in a combo attack. Darkness launched out of the ground nearby in attacks while Vanitas also attacked with his machete, Donald attacked with magic, and Goofy charged in with his shield. Sora and Vanitas then jumped up onto the Heartless and vaulted themselves up onto the chandelier.

"Is it me, or have the Boss fights gotten more awesome?" Vanitas asked Sora as they rode the chandelier down towards the ground.

Sora didn't think much about his friend's words as they projected the chandelier to start spinning, and they caught the Dark Thorn in an attack, which revealed itself again. Vanitas added to the attack by pulling out an Uzi and firing rapidly into its chest in an attack. He laughed wickedly as they spun around and fired at the Heartless. Once the chandelier stopped spinning, the Heartless was thrown back, and the two jumped off as the chandelier retreated back up to the ceiling.

Sora then started the team attack with Beast again, and the three of them once again lunged at the Heartless in attacks repeatedly, for a good long while. Once they drained its health quite a bit, they released energy while Beast howled out once again, ending the attack and knocking the Dark Thorn up into the air. Sora followed it up with an aerial combo attack before Vanitas lobed a fireball at it.

Goofy threw his shield in an attack at the Heartless before he and Sora blocked its lunging attack. Donald didn't, so he ended up being knocked out by the attack. They all dodged as the Dark Thorn spun horizontally in an attack, before lunging forwards a few more times, knocking Goofy back. The Heartless turned invisible again, so after Sora and Vanitas attacked it again, they catapulted themselves up onto the chandelier again. Once again, they slammed the chandelier on the ground, spun it around to catch the Thorn with it, revealed the Thorn, Vanitas fired at it with his Uzi, then the spinning stopped and they all landed back on the ground.

They managed to attack it a few more times, but then the Dark Thorn jumped up onto the chandelier and used it in an attack of his own. The group dodged the spinning chandelier for a while before the Heartless jumped off again. It then charged forwards and grabbed Vanitas, throwing him towards one of the teeth like columns. Luckily, the ravenette was able to catch himself on the column, and spun around it a few times before projecting himself at the Dark Thorn. Just as the Heartless was about to attack one of his friends again, Vanitas launched himself from the column towards the Heartless foot first. He kicked the Dark Thorn pretty hard in the head, which ended the fight. *** _5_ ***

Vanitas landed on the ground with his friends and looked up at the Dark Thorn stepped back in more spasm like gestures. After a few seconds, the Heartless roared up at the ceiling before freezing completely. Darkness appeared over the Heartless before it disappeared into a flash of light. Within seconds, more light flared, and the ballroom was back to normal.

"We did it!" Sora exclaimed as he cheered with his ship mates.

"So you think," Xaldin's voice corrected them.

They turned to see the man standing in front of the doors to the ballroom, in his signature pose of holding his arms behind his back.

"Xaldin!" Beast exclaimed as they all charged at the man.

"Farewell," is all Xaldin said as darkness surged around him, making him disappear.

They all stopped in front of where the man stood, where Beast asked, "What does he want here?"

"He's with Organization XIII," Sora announced. Beast turned towards him with a curious growl. "Ever heard of the..."

"Sora," Vanitas pointed out. "Since we didn't learn about them our entire first journey, I don't think he's heard of them."

"Oh, right," Sora remembered. "Well, then, remember the Heartless. When a strong hearted person person turns into a Heartless, a Nobody is created, too. The Nobody is the empty shell that used to be the person's body." Beast looked confused at that. "Yeah, the heart becomes a Heartless and the body becomes a Nobody, V's expressed confusion at that, too."

"Glad I'm not the only one," Vanitas commented, as he and Beast shared a knowing nod.

"See, the Organization... they've got control of all the Nobodies," Sora continued.

"That's right," Goofy remarked. "They were gonna make you into a Heartless. That way, they could get that Nobody of yours and have control over it."

_I guess that's why Xaldin showed interest in the Beast those months ago_ , Vanitas thought as they nodded along with Goofy's conclusion.

"You're all right!" Belle's voice called out from the doorway in relief.

"Belle!" Beast exclaimed in equal relief.

He ran towards her and stopped in front of her, smiling at her. Belle looked to the side in relief to see the ones that were in the dungeon walking up, now okay. The off worlders stood with the dungeon crew as they watched Belle and the Beast talk.

"Belle... I-I'm sorry," Beast told her. "I...wasn't myself. I hope I haven't done anything to hurt you." She shook her head slightly and they smiled at each other. He still begged, "Forgive me."

"I know you weren't yourself," Belle assured him. "You don't have to apologize."

"There's a 'but' coming," Vanitas muttered to Sora.

"How do you know?" Sora muttered back.

"Trust me," Vanitas muttered to his doppelgänger. "There's _always_ a 'but'."

"But I had hoped..." Belle said, confirming Vanitas's claim. She pointed right at Beast, and he exclaimed in shame. "That you might have changed a little bit. I wish you could start trusting me."

She crossed her arms and looked away from Beast, as he raised up a hand towards her, hoping there was some way he could make it better. He then looked down in defeat.

"Oh, I am afraid time is running short," Lumiere announced.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Remember the rose?" Lumiere asked as he and the others looked at the off worlders.

"From the Beast's room?" Donald asked.

"Precisely," Cogsworth announced. "You see, if the master can learn to love, and earn love in return, before the last petal falls...

"The spell will be broken," Lumiere finished, to Cogsworth's surprise.

"Really?" Sora asked, looking towards Beast and Belle once again. "You think he's gonna make it?"

"We think so," Mrs. Potts told them, nodding her head with Chip.

"With all the shit they've been through, they should," Vanitas announced. "Hell, I'm surprised they haven't already."

"Yep, I think you guys're right," Goofy announced.

"I _hope_ you're right..." Sora remarked.

The Keyblade then appeared in Sora's hand, to the quartet's surprise. He then looked up in thought, knew it was time, and got into position with his Keyblade in both hands. Unbeknownst to them, light gathered at the rose case up in Beast's room, preparing for this moment as well.

Light then gathered in a large, see through sphere at the end of the Keyblade, and then the design of a crown appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. Light then shot out of the rose case and up into the air, which formed a Keyhole. Sora jumped back, swung his Keyblade around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

"What happened?" Beast asked as he and Belle walked towards them.

"The gate is open!" Donald announced.

"Do you have to go?" Belle asked.

"Yeah," Sora confirmed.

"Now, no more arguin', okay?" Goofy told them.

Beast and Belle then looked at each other, and he looked to the side in embarrassment as she kept smiling at him. That made Vanitas laugh.

"We'll see to it," Lumiere announced.

"Take care, dears," Mrs. Potts told them.

"You're welcome here anytime!" Cogsworth announced.

"If you hear anything about Riku or the King, the Heartless, the Organization, anything at all, let us know!" Sora announced, which made Vanitas glad they had already had this pep talk with them back at Hollow Bastion last year about Riku and King Mickey.

Beast and Belle nodded their heads to their friends.

"Okay, gotta go!" Sora announced with a smile as they all waved goodbye.

During the trek back to the ship, Vanitas had to pause and breathe in and out heavily. After fighting all the Heartless here, he was exhausted... and then he realized what was wrong. He _felt_ exhausted. He felt _exhausted_. Vanitas didn't know what was happening to him, but he had two hopes: he hoped he'd be okay, and that whatever was happening was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Yeah, he's a fan of Classic Who on top of New Who. Sure, some people probably are as well, but there's so damn much of that old show that I only know snippets
> 
> *2 Yes. Yes, you have, V
> 
> *3 Is it me, or did the normal form of Dance to the Death sound a lot more dramatic than the Final Mix version? It definitely added a badass factor to the first half of the game
> 
> *4 With things happening to make him start feeling things again, I feel it'd be natural that his powers flaring up more often at still random moments might end up causing problems as well
> 
> *5 Yeah, Vanitas stole Sora's thunder with being the one to finish off the Heartless himself, but the guy's gotta do more than just be a side character with snark, you know?
> 
> I did kind of like the inclusion of the worlds for people that were brief allies in KHI in this story. Getting to see Mushu's, Simba's, and Beast's worlds were pretty cool, especially since we went through them twice


	6. The Book

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes back to Hollow Bastion, where Sora and Vanitas reunite with an old friend. But of course, something has to happen...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small filler because the next one will be the first trip to the coliseum, and that's so damn long that most of that 50 minute episode of the Timeline focuses on it. That WILL be a two parter, 'cause I'm not doing the whole 40 minutes in one chapter

Once they were back on the Gummi Ship and in the Realm Between, the four were surprised and confused when it turned itself in a random direction.

"Huh?" Goofy asked.

"Hey, wait a minute..." Sora said in confusion. "Is the ship moving on its own?"

"Yup!" Goofy confirmed. "Looks like we're heading toward Hollow Bastion."

"Well, it'll be nice to see some friends," Vanitas rationed.

The ship landed on the world and they got out, walking through the alleys towards Merlin's house in the neighborhood.

"I wonder what's up," Sora commented.

They turned the corner to see Merlin's house in front of them, with the door open. That confused the four for a second, but then they jumped in surprise at the Soldiers running out the door into the open. The Soldiers disappeared just as they started running forwards.

"C'mon!" Sora announced as they ran towards the door, with Vanitas pulling out a handgun.

They ran into the house to find its owner, Merlin, lying down on the ground next to the chalkboard. The wizard breathed in and out as he stood up and faced the four.

"Well, now... took your time, did you?" Merlin asked them.

"Oh, was it you who summoned us, Merlin?" Goofy asked.

"Yes, yes..." Merlin confirmed, though he sounded tired. "But it seems I used too much power in doing so, and those infernal Heartless... Ohh..."

"So what's up?" Sora asked as Vanitas slipped his sidearm in one of the straps, serving as a holster.

"Well, I happened to stumble across this in the Zero District," Merlin told them.

He held his hand parallel to the floor, and a familiar brown and white book appeared in a flash of smoke. He offered it to them, and Donald took it, looking down at it in his hands.

"Pooh's storybook!" Sora exclaimed.

The familiar picture on the front of younger Sora holding Pooh's hand, and Pooh holding Piglet's hand, and Vanitas wearing his old SHIELD garb with his arm around Tigger's shoulders as the five of them walked next to some bushes brought a smile to their faces.

"That's right," Merlin confirmed. "I know you and Vanitas are good friends of Winnie the Pooh, Sora, that's why I summoned you."

"Nice to see the old bear's still doin' okay," Vanitas remarked with a smile.

"However, when I did, I was attacked by the Heartless," Merlin continued. "Of course, I fought back with some rather powerful magic, but then I began to fear the book would be damaged, so I..." He stuttered slightly as he realized, "Now, just a moment. Leon and the others need to hear this, too. I-I'd better go find them. Be back in a jiffy."

Merlin disappeared in a flash of magic.

"I wonder how Pooh's doing," Sora remarked.

"Yeah, we haven't seen him since right before the trip here last time," Vanitas said in equal wonder.

"Want to find out?" Donald asked.

"Yeah!" Sora eagerly exclaimed.

They gathered next to Merlin's bed, and Donald held the book open while Sora and Vanitas stood in front, ready.

"Sora, V..." Goofy tried exclaiming.

"Cover for us, okay?" Sora asked him

"Well be back quick," Vanitas assured.

Light then originated from the book, which engulfed both the teens. Shrunken down, the two of them landed on the front pages where the parts of the world split off through.

"It's a pop up book now?" Vanitas asked, looking around the various places they knew they would enter to find the denizens of this world.

"Looks like it," Sora remarked. "Kind of weird, since it wasn't last time."

 _Game makers,_ Vanitas thought. _Change the landscape in every game sequel, even when the place they went to is the same place from the previous game. Not the worst, idea, I'll admit._

One of the cards then popped up, and they recognized it as Pooh's house.

"I wonder if Pooh's home," Sora said in thought.

"Let's go see," Vanitas announced.

They walked to the pop up card, and like the last time, they then appeared on the path, walking down towards Pooh's house. They found the bear sitting on a log in front of his front door, with one arm crossed and the other on his head in thought.

However, Pooh perked up when the doppelgängers leaned down in front of him to get a better look at him.

"Whassup, buddy?" Vanitas greeted.

"Hey, Pooh Bear!" Sora greeted. "How you doing? Finding enough honey lately?"

"Oh, yes," Pooh assured them. "In fact, I was just about to do my stoutness exercises. Sora, V, would you like to join me?"

"Sure thing," Vanitas told him as they stood up straight.

"We're game," Sora assured.

Pooh climbed down off the log to stand up, but he suddenly froze in the air before landing on the ground.

"Huh?" Sora asked, confused.

"What the heck?" Vanitas asked in equal confusion.

They reached out to try to touch Pooh, to see if he was okay, when suddenly strong winds forced the two back, causing them to exclaim as they flew through the air.

They ended up flying out of the book altogether, landing on their backs on Merlin's floor. Confused, the two looked up to see the book on the stand, closing on its own. They stared at it in confusion for a second, before...

"Sora!" Donald's voice called out. "V! Hurry up!"

They looked back towards the door to see it wide open, which was unusual since they usually always closed it.

"Donald?" Sora asked.

"Something must be up," Vanitas remarked, standing up.

The two of them ran out of the house, Vanitas already drawing his sidearm and Sora summoning his Keyblade. They ran out to find Donald and Goofy with their own weapons drawn as they faced Shadows. They stood ready with their friends, when Goofy looked over his shoulder at them.

"Did you guys bring the book?" he asked.

They looked towards the still open door to see Soldiers running out, one of them carrying the book in its hands.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed.

"Give that back!" Donald yelled.

"Bastards!" Vanitas added before he started firing his handgun.

Once again, Vanitas went into John Wick Mode with his gun while Sora used combo attacks, Goofy swung his shield a lot, and Donald blasted Thunder. The Heartless were gone within a minute. With the Heartless defeated, they found the book on the ground, but it's front cover was cut up slightly. Sora picked it up and looked at it in worry.

"Think it's okay?" he asked.

"Gawrsh, maybe ya better go back and make sure Pooh's all right," Goofy suggested.

"But what about Merlin?" Donald asked.

"Well, I guess we could explain..." Goofy said, gesturing off slightly.

"Great!" Sora told them.

"Let's hope he's all right," Vanitas commented.

They handed the book to Donald, who looked up at Goofy, and the two nodded at each other. Donald once again held the book towards them and opened it. Once again, light spread out from the book and absorbed them, and once again, they landed in the index where the pop up cards were. However, this time, the only pop up card available was the one for Pooh's house.

They ran towards the card and appeared in the walkway, just near Pooh's house.

"Pooh," Sora remarked, seeing the bear once again sitting on the log.

They once again ran down the path and kneeled down in front of Pooh to see him better. However, while he still smiled at them, it was more one of surprise.

"We're so glad you're okay, Pooh," Sora told him.

"And I'm glad you came to visit," Pooh told them. "But you see, I was just about to begin my stoutness exercises. Perhaps we could visit a bit later... Somebodies-I-Don't-Know."

"Huh?" Vanitas muttered as the bear climbed down off the log onto his feet.

"Oh...sure," Sora said in equal confusion as they stood up straight. The bear looked off to the side and started stretching in different directions. "So...how's Piglet these days?"

"I don't think I know anyone by that name," Pooh announced as he kept doing his exercises. "Now where was I? Oh, yes. My stoutness exercises."

"Pooh?" Sora asked, confused. "Hey! Pooh?"

"This is weird even by this world's standards," Vanitas muttered to his friend.

"Maybe we'd better go back and ask Merlin about this," Sora announced.

"Yeah, let's go," Vanitas agreed.

They went back the way they came, and appeared in Merlin's house in front of the book stand. The wizard was chatting with Donald and Goofy with his back to them, but he turned at the sound of their reappearance.

"Couldn't be bothered to wait up for an old wizard, eh?" Merlin asked, annoyed.

"Sorry about that..." Sora said as the book closed behind them.

"How are things in there?" Merlin asked.

"Things changed after the Heartless showed up," Vanitas announced. "Pooh appears to have forgotten all about us."

"And not just us," Sora elaborated. "All his other friends, too."

"A classic Me situation," Vanitas announced. "Just, you know... without the exploding Keyblade and nine year murder rampage."

"I was afraid of that," Merlin admitted. He walked over to the book, which opened so he could observe it. "I suspect it has something to do with those pages the Heartless stole. You'll have to collect the torn pages and repair the book to put things right."

The book closed, and the wizard looked at them once again.

"This book is one of the world's most cherished elements," Merlin announced. "I'd been meaning to tell Leon I'd found it, but perhaps we should keep it between us for now."

"We will!" the four announced in perfect unison, surprising Vanitas a bit.

"Good, good..." Merlin said before he walked over to them again. "Now, the book isn't all that's cherished. This is for you, Sora."

He handed Sora an amulet, and the brunette saw that it had the design of a baseball and a baseball bat on it.

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"Simply concentrate on it with all your heart, and you need only say the word to summon an ally who will help in times of need," Merlin informed them.

"Like Mushu and Simba did, the last time we were here?" Goofy asked.

"Precisely," Merlin assured them. "Now go forth, with your friends by your side!"

"Sounds easy enough," Vanitas commented.

"Thanks, Merlin," Sora told the wizard. "We're worried about Pooh, so we'll be back once we've found those torn pages."

"Let's roll, boys," Vanitas announced.

They made their way back to the Gummi Ship, now determined to help another set of their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even just working on this shorter chapter without stopping made my arm a little sore. While the part of the story was only eight minutes in the video, it took much longer to integrate it into writing, even if I didn't stop. I have new respect for writers of movies and games


	7. The Underworld

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group arrives in Olympus Coliseum. Or, at least, somewhere close to the Coliseum

The next world the group traveled to was labelled as Olympus Coliseum, which made them all excited to see their old friends, Hercules and Phil again. However, when they landed, they found themselves in a more sinister and dark area than they were used to. They were in a large area of ground over water with the ground shaped like a Y, with one of the paths blocked off by blue fire.

They stopped where the three roads intersected, all while energy surged around Sora, Donald, and Goofy slightly. Sora looked around in curiosity, not understanding where they were.

"Are ya sure this is the coliseum?" Goofy asked.

"Probably not," Vanitas remarked. "There are different parts of Olympus, after all."

"It's that way!" Donald exclaimed, pointing to where the other road in the Y led.

In front of them was a staircase that led up to a large set of double doors. As the doors led further up, light gathered over the stairs, as if it was leading to heaven.

"Oh...guess we're a little off," Sora commented.

"This might be the Underworld," Vanitas remarked. "After all, it is the equivalent of He..."

The sound of a woman screaming stopped them in their places as they walked towards the staircase. They turned towards the road they walked from to see an auburn haired woman in a pink dress running from some Heartless dogs away from the blue mossed pathway. The woman tripped and fell to the ground, with the Heartless closing in.

"Heartless!" Sora exclaimed.

"Hey!" Vanitas yelled.

Vanitas pulled out a Beretta and fired towards the Heartless, hitting one and scaring the others off. They reached the woman as she started pushing herself up. Sora held out a hand to offer to help her up.

"Thanks, but... I'm okay," the woman told him.

Sora kept his hand out, but she still ignored him and got to her feet on her own. She brushed off her dress and looked at the teenagers with her arms crossed.

"And you're supposed to be?" she asked.

"I'm Sora, this is Vanitas, he's Donald, and that's Goofy," Sora introduced the group. "We came to see how Hercules is doing."

She looked over the four of them in thought, before asking, "You know Wonderboy?"

"Yeah, 'cause we're heroes, too!" Donald exclaimed in triumph.

"You mean junior heroes, Donald," Goofy reminded the mallard, who frowned in response.

"Looks like we have a friend in common," the woman commented with a laugh. "My names Megara. My friends call me Meg."

"So how's Herc?" Sora asked.

"Wonderboy?" Meg asked. "Well, he's duking it out at the Coliseum every day. You know, 'a hero's work is never done' and all that. He's ready to drop, but he keeps fighting. Even Wonderboy has his limits, though. These opponents are bad news: special deliveries from Hades himself..."

"Hades!?" Donald exclaimed.

"Right," Meg confirmed. "Lord of the Underworld. "I was on my way to see him. Maybe I can get Hades to give Wonderboy a breather. If anything happened to that kid..."

Vanitas smirked a knowing smile and cocked an eyebrow up at the woman.

"Gawrsh, sounds like you're more than just friends!" Goofy commented, voicing Vanitas's thoughts.

"Oh...uh, I mean..." Meg said with slight embarrassment.

"We'll go have a little talk with Hades," Sora assured her. "I'd hate for anything to happen to you on your way to see him."

"You really wanna do that?" Meg asked. "Well, it looks like you know what you're doing. I guess I'll take you up on that offer. But... let's keep this whole chat-with-Hades thing thing our little secret, okay?"

"Our lips are sealed!" Sora assured her, with the other three nodding their heads.

They went through the blue mossed pathway deeper into the Underworld. There were lots of Heartless around, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle, even though Sora for some reason couldn't use his Drive Forms or Summon magic. As they entered the path down into the deeper caverns, their attention was drawn quickly to a man in an Organization coat running down out of sight.

"The Organization!" Donald exclaimed.

"Demyx!" Vanitas exclaimed, recognizing the man's build.

"You know who that is?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah," Vanitas told them. "His face has a date with a dozen blasts from my shotgun." *** _1_ ***

They followed the man through the corridors and reached a chamber deep underground, where they found Demyx running right towards them. Sora stood in his battle stance and Vanitas pulled out a SPAS 12 shotgun... when Demyx ran right past them towards a wall.

"Run, run away!" Demyx announced in fear as darkness appeared around him, teleporting him away.

"Okay...?" Sora asked in confusion.

"Yeah, he's kind of the lazy ass of their group," Vanitas admitted. "The only reason I hate the fucker is 'cause he ratted me out to his bosses after he saw me on a mission. The pricks went searching for me after that."

They went through a giant crack in a wall into a new chamber, as Vanitas got a vision of Hades in his meeting room with Pete, lamenting how his forces kept losing. Pete then suggested that they get someone already dead to fight him, which caused the man to angrily gesture at the cat before deciding that was a good idea, saying he knew "just the warrior," while... breaking the fourth wall?

"Hey, that's my thing!" Vanitas exclaimed in annoyance.

"What?" Sora asked in surprise.

Vanitas opened his eyes to see that the vision had ended, which surprised him a bit. For once, the pain didn't feel like flaming machetes through the eyes, but similar to just a simply brain freeze. That had to mean something was up, but he brushed it aside for later.

"Nothing," Vanitas told him, knowing that they'd be stopping the dead warrior thing in a little bit, anyway. "But Pete's here apparently giving Hades advice on what to do here. Let's hope the cat's worse at that then he is picking out superhero costumes."

Vanitas's friends chuckled at that before they exited the wall into a gigantic chamber. They were walking on a small pathway over gigantic, swirling green waters that Vanitas guessed were the souls of the damned. Donald and Goofy looked around in fear with the former exclaiming in nervousness.

"I'm scared, too, Donald," Goofy assured his friend.

"Hades, come out!" Sora exclaimed, looking up at the chalice shaped palace above them.

"He's probably not gonna hear us from here," Vanitas remarked. "But that doorway..." He pointed up at the open doors with a staircase through them at the top of the pathway, embedded in a wall. "...That'll probably lead us to his throne room."

They made their way up the walkway, taking out Heartless along the way. As they went through the open doors and up the stairs, Vanitas had another vision of Hades in the throne room, where the center of the room had the vortex into the deepest parts was active. Pete was nervous and cowered up against the wall with Hades's underlings Pain and Panic as the god threw fireballs into the vortex.

An explosion shot up into the air, depositing smoke and lightning flashes, before a man in red robes with a scar over his right eye and his left arm in a sling appeared on the ground where the vortex used to be. Hades laughed in triumph before explaining he had a "job offering" for the man. He had to fight Hercules in the Coliseum to the death, but the man, Auron, announced that "this was his story and Hades wasn't part of it," as he pulled out his sword and stood in his battle stance.

Hades was angry at the man, announcing that he was the Lord of the Dead, at which Auron gained Vanitas's immediate respect by remarking, "No wonder no one wants to die."

"You are FIRED!" Hades exclaimed, just as Vanitas's vision ended and they ran up the rest of the stairs into the room.

Hades turned red in anger and attacked Auron, which he intercepted with his sword. Sora was very confused about what was happening.

"Hades!" Donald called out.

"You again?" Hades exclaimed, turning back to blue as he looked at them while pushing down Auron's sword.

Auron then slashed Hades with his sword, knocking the man back.

"Fight!" he instructed the quartet before pressing the attack on Hades.

Hades caught Auron's sword once again before throwing the man back and pushing him back with a fire covered hand. Auron fell to the floor as energy surrounded Hades, and fire covered his hands. Sora and Vanitas ran between Hades and Auron with their weapons drawn.

"Get up!" Sora told Auron before they stood in their battle stances.

The four of them tried to attack Hades, but the man had turned red again, which apparently meant he couldn't be damaged. Sora tried attacking with his Keyblade, Donald repeatedly shot Thunder and Blizzard at the god, Goofy swung his shield then rode it at Hades, and Vanitas fired his SPAS-12 until it ran empty, but their attacks seemingly just went right through him.

"Something's wrong!" Donald exclaimed in worry as the four of them backed away from Hades.

"I feel kinda funny..." Sora admitted as energy surrounded him, Donald, and Goofy once again.

"That's right!" Hades announced, blue once again. "See, that's the thing. In the Underworld, heroes are zeroes; comes with the territory."

"I don't remember _that_ being a thing in the myths!" Vanitas remarked, confused.

Hades then lunged at them with fire on his hands, but then Auron jumped out fully recovered and slashed at the god, who disappeared in a flash of smoke. He reappeared on the other side of the room as Auron looked over at the four.

"Go now!" he instructed them.

"But I've gotta talk to Hades!" Sora exclaimed.

"What was that?" Hades simply asked, putting fingers in his ears to mock them.

"I think it's safe to say he's not gonna listen to reason," Vanitas told his younger lookalike.

Nevertheless, Sora tried running forwards, but Auron stopped him as they saw fireballs grow in Hades's outstretched hands once again. Donald and Goofy didn't hesitate to listen to the warrior's instructions and started running back to the doorway they came through.

"We can't fight him here!" Auron explained to Sora. "We have to go... now!"

"Come on!" Vanitas exclaimed, grabbing Sora by the shoulder and pulling him with the rest of them.

They ran through the doorway as Hades threw two fireballs, which exploded where they originally stood. After a few seconds, Vanitas didn't have to drag Sora, and they were all running together down the stairs. They reached the large doors at the bottom and Sora, Vanitas, and Goofy pushed them shut, trying to keep Hades in.

Donald panted slightly from the run, then turned towards the others and asked, "Is he gone?"

"Don't count on it," Auron remarked.

Sora was confused for a second, before he looked beside him and jumped in surprise to see Hades, arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"Leaving so soon?" Hades asked.

Shadows and Bats then appeared, and a barrier went up, trapping them there. Auron leaped forwards with his sword first, doing wicked slashes against the enemies, while Donald repeatedly shot up Thunder, all of this as Hades threw fireballs at them. Sora blocked a fireball with his keyblade then attacked one Shadow with a combo attack to finish it off, while Goofy threw his shield and Vanitas slashed his machete together through the last couple of Heartless.

The barrier receded, and the five ran down the pathway of rock towards the other circular area in the path, with Hades still following them and throwing fireballs. At one point, Vanitas caught a fireball and threw it back at the god, but it didn't have much of an effect. Makes sense. If you fight a guy whose covered in fire pretty much 24/7, what are the chances fire would actually hurt him?

They made it to the second circular part of the pathway, and a barrier went up before they could leave it, with Lancers and Shadows appearing in front of it. Sora started using combo attacks against one of the Lancers while Vanitas went at the Shadows with his axe, one handed, and the others attacked with their weapons. Hades appeared again, and Sora blocked the god's attacks with his Keyblade before finishing off the Lancer he was fighting.

Auron kept attacking Heartless with his sword before he tried directing his attacks towards Hades, still to no avail. Eventually, the last Shadow was destroyed, and the group continued their trek down the pathway. They reached the base on the ground in front of the giant crack in the wall they came through earlier, and more Lancers appeared in front of them with Shadows, along with some Bats.

After Sora got hit by both a fireball and a Lancer's... lance, he started a team attack with Auron, that Vanitas joined in on. The three stood together back to back to back, and they slashed their weapons, which caused a large slashing motion over all their heads. They started doing attacks of lunging forwards and slashing their weapons at the enemies, before jumping up with energy supplied by both Auron and Vanitas, which caused fire to flare out from the impacts on the ground. Vanitas then stood back as Sora and Auron pressed their weapons together, which started a tornado, that grabbed four of the enemies and destroyed them after a few seconds, ending the attack.

There was once Lancer and one Shadow left after the attack, along with Hades, who was still sticking around, but Donald and Goofy managed to take out the already damaged Heartless with Thunder and a thrown shield. Once those Heartless were destroyed, a Large Body, two more Lancers, and two more Bats showed up. The Bats were easy prey with Auron's crazy sword slashes and Donald's magic, so their next targets were the Lancers.

Of course, those were also easy to take out from combo attacks from Sora, axe strikes from Vanitas, Goofy's shield, and even more sword strikes from Auron. All that was left was the Large Body, which they remembered needed to be attacked from behind. Sora did exactly that with his Keyblade, while Vanitas tried for a strike at its head. They managed to finish off the Heartless pretty easily, which lowered the last barrier. They ran through it to escape, and luckily, Hades didn't follow them. *** _2_ ***

The five of them were back in the small chamber the off worlders had encountered Demyx in, and Sora, Donald and Goofy were pretty tired after what they just went through. The three collapsed to the ground, panting, as Vanitas and Auron remained standing.

"You're really good," Sora complimented Auron. "Are you some kind of hero?"

Auron shook his head with a look of slight sadness. "No, I'm no hero... I'm just an..."

He trailed off, which confused Sora.

"Auron," Auron told them, which confused the three on the ground. "My name."

"Vanitas," Vanitas told the man. "People call me V."

"I'm Sora," Sora introduced himself, standing up and pointing at himself.

Donald jumped up onto Sora's shoulders, surprising Auron a bit as he announced, "Donald!"

Goofy then jumped up onto Donald's shoulders, surprising Auron a bit more as he announced, "Goofy!"

Sora strained under the weight of his friends on his shoulders, then fell to the ground, taking them with him.

"Yeah, they're not the most mature," Vanitas muttered to Auron.

"It seems we were fated to meet," Auron assessed with a slight smirk. "Maybe you need a guardian."

Sora got up on his hands and knees, pushing the other two off of him as he looked up at Auron in curiosity.

"Guardian?" he asked. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Sora then stood up and started walking towards the way back to the coliseum, and Auron smirked slightly at that. Vanitas sensed that Sora reminded the man of the ward he spent his life protecting. Vanitas smiled at that as they followed the brunette back through the caverns. *** _3_ ***

Along the path back, Vanitas had another vision involving Hades and Pete, where Pete tried taking charge, but Hades lashed out and announced that it was his Underworld, and he'd take care of it. He then called out an all too familiar, all too annoying, giant three headed dog. Cerberus then ran down the road under Hades's instructions, no doubt towards them.

"This is gonna get ugly, fast," Vanitas announced as they ran back into the circular chamber that was their entrance to this part of the Underworld. "We're gonna be facing that dog again soon if we don't hurry."

"Then let's move!" Sora exclaimed as they ran towards the blue mossed entranceway.

However, the sliding rocks (?) were closed, with a lock in the center and chains reaching from it to... somewhere.

"How the heck does that even work?" Vanitas asked. "There isn't a place where those chains are connected."

Instead of answering, Sora let the Keyblade appear in his hand.

"Will that open it?" Auron asked.

"Yeah," Sora confirmed. "I was once told it can open any lock, so I think this qualifies."

"You _do_ listen to my stories!" Vanitas exclaimed happily.

Just as Sora started swinging the Keyblade up, a loud dog roar originated from above them in the center of the chamber.

"Hurry!" Auron announced as he stood in his battle stance with his sword.

As to be expected, Cerberus appeared from above them in the center of the chamber, and landed on the ground, roaring out at them. Sora swung his Keyblade at the lock, and a see through circle appeared before shooting out a beam that made the lock turn into white light before completely disappearing. Donald and Goofy started pushing the rocks to the side to open the way to where they met Meg just as Cerberus charged at them.

Auron intercepted the dog's bite with his sword, and pushed it back after applying lots of force with his one hand. Donald and Goofy were already out of the room, but Sora and Vanitas stopped when they saw that Auron was still in there facing the giant dog. Not willing to leave anyone behind, the two of them ran into the center of the room in facing Cerberus, against Donald's protests.

"Bad dog," Vanitas said as he pulled out his sledgehammer.

They scattered as Cerberus leaped up and landed on the ground, producing a shockwave. In the air, Sora shot Blizzard at the dog before he landed on his feet on the ground. He then ran in an arc around the massive dog while Auron attacked with his sword and Vanitas with his sledgehammer. The ravenette got the idea to produce fireballs in the air, then knock them at the dog like they were golf balls and his sledgehammer was the club. It actually worked pretty well, and the dog took some damage.

Cerberus then turned towards Sora behind him, who attacked with aerial combos before moving out of the way again. Just in time, because the dog spun itself in a circle, which knocked back both Auron and Vanitas. Sora kept his distance a bit more as the dog tried biting at them. He then jumped up to join Auron's attacks with his own aerial combos before blocking the homing fireballs the dog shot out of one of his mouths.

As they kept up their attacks, Vanitas got an idea with one of the falling rocks around them. He pointed his hand right at one of them, felt the usual spike of pain that left him with a nosebleed, and directed a rock right into one of the heads. That didn't have as much of an effect as he hoped, but he would take what he could get. They kept blocking attacks and delivering ones of their own before Sora got caught by all three heads.

He pushed back the two heads on the sides, then jumped up as the center head popped up. He swung his Keyblade in, which got caught in between its jaws. Sora pulled it out before jumping up into the air to block one of the other heads. He then came down, swinging his Keyblade at the back in an attack, stunning the dog for a bit.

He then started the team attack once more. The three heroes once again stood back to back to back and swung their weapons in a manner that left a large slashing motion above their heads. They then, again, lunged forwards and slashed their weapons at the enemies, before jumping up with energy supplied by both Auron and Vanitas, causing fire to flare out from the impacts on the ground. After a few seconds of that, Vanitas stood back and let Sora and Auron press their blades together to start a tornado once again.

Once the tornado was gone again, they kept up their attacks, before Sora was once again caught in between Cerberus's heads. Once again, he pushed back the two heads on the sides, then jumped up as the center head popped up. He swung his Keyblade in, which got caught in between its jaws. Sora pulled it out before jumping up into the air to block one of the other heads. He then came down, swinging his Keyblade at the back in an attack, this time finishing the fight.

The large dog exclaimed as it fell to the ground while Donald gestured to the others to hurry. They did, and the three that stayed back started running between the rocks just as the dog got up. Luckily, Donald and Goofy had already started pushing the rocks back towards each other. The four off worlders taunted the charging Cerberus as the doors closed, blocking him off completely from them.

"Whew..." Sora breathed out, tired, while Goofy looked around in confusion.

"That was... certainly something..." Vanitas remarked, trying and failing to hide the wave of exhaustion that just surged through his body.

"Huh?" Donald asked, looking around in confusion.

"What happened to Auron?" Goofy asked.

They looked around to see that their taller friend was, indeed, gone. He had seemingly just vanished without a word.

"He can take care of himself," Sora assured them. "Let's go find Meg. Then we can try this again."

"Probably won't work like that," Vanitas commented. "But, hey, who would we be without... hope..."

He panted in and out before the exhaustion overtook him and he fell right to the ground. Sora, Donald, and Goofy quickly kneeled down to the ravenette, and reached out for him. The feeling of exhaustion then suddenly vanished, like it had never been there. Vanitas breathed in and out as he got up into a kneeling position and looked up at his friends.

"What was that about?" Sora asked, confused and worried.

"Remember... what I was saying on the way to this world about suddenly being able to feel things at random bursts?" Vanitas asked, and they nodded their heads in confirmation. "Well, it looks like I was just hit with a wave of exhaustion after that fight, and whatever is making you guys weaker just amplified it."

"Why exactly are we not talking about this?" Donald asked, still confused at Vanitas's earlier instructions to not bring it up.

"Yeah," Goofy said. "After all, isn't the fact that you're starting to feel things again after this long a good thing?"

"That depends," Vanitas admitted.

"Depends on what?" Sora asked as Vanitas stood up.

"On whether it's happening for a good reason, or a bad reason," Vanitas told them, gravely.

That was when they realized he had a point. They hadn't had much experience with coincidences before, so maybe Vanitas was right about there maybe being a problem that was causing this to happen to him. *** _4_ ***

"Let's worry about that later," Vanitas instructed. "Right now, we've gotta get to the coliseum."

The three of them nodded their heads in agreement, and followed him along the Y shaped path towards the staircase, ready to finally see their old friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Yeah, Demyx doing that to Vanitas was like, months ago for him, but people can be offended by stuff like that for a while
> 
> *2 I remember, when I was a kid, this portion of the game took me so long to beat the first time I ever played it. I actually came to memorize some of the dialogue, which got annoying after a bit. Not gonna lie, even though I played the game on Beginner the first time I ever did, it was still pretty difficult for me. I'm actually a little embarrassed at how much I died in fights that I can handle pretty easily nowadays
> 
> *3 I looked on the KH wiki to get a slight understanding of Auron. Since these are characters that have been a part of the series for like, ever, I decided to start checking that out so I can try to get accurate portrayals for them in the stories. Especially Cloud. You'll see why eventually...
> 
> *4 Spoilers, it's not gonna be pleasant. But we'll get there later in this story
> 
> Like I said, since this world takes up a whole damn 40+ minutes on the Timeline, I don't really feel like doing all THAT in one chapter. I'm not ready for that much at once. Not yet, anyway


	8. From Hero to Zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group reunites with their Olympian friends, but trouble is never far...

After Vanitas downed a Potion to perk himself up (while the feeling of being tired went away, his body still moved a little slowly as an after effect), they started their trek up the stairs towards Olympus Coliseum. Along the way, Vanitas had a slight vision involving Hades and Pete, where Pete explained how the Keyblade worked. Hades then mentioned the "killer coliseum" they had in the Underworld, which he claimed would be perfect to stop Hercules' winning streak. Zeus apparently locked it tight, so they were gonna get "a woman's touch" for their plan.

The vision ended as light flared around them. The five of them walked through it and found themselves walking through the doors into the area outside the coliseum. Looking back, Vanitas saw a black vortex outside the doors that most likely led back to the Underworld. He shrugged that off and looked up at the coliseum and the two giant golden statues of warriors in front of them.

"Gawrsh, this sure does bring back memories!" Goofy commented.

"Lots, yeah," Vanitas muttered, thinking of both their last time here and his times here with Roxas.

They walked across the sand towards the coliseum entrance, and as they reached the bottom of the stairs, a worn out Hercules walked through the doors, looking down. He breathed out and looked up, then immediately perked up at the sight of his old friends.

"Sora! V! Donald, Goofy!" Hercules greeted. "When'd you get here?"

"Not too long ago," Vanitas admitted with a slight wave.

"Hey, Herc!" Sora greeted with a wave of his own.

"Hi!" Donald announced, jumping up to wave on his own.

"Howdy there!" Goofy also greeted with a wave.

"You on another adventure?" Hercules asked, walking over to the quartet.

"Yeah, trackin' down some friends, wiping out some Heartless," Sora admitted with a slight smile.

"Same old, same old," Vanitas elaborated with a smile of his own.

"Junior heroes, always busy!" Hercules commented as he and Sora grabbed each others hands in greeting.

"You know it!" Sora confirmed.

They went into the vestibule and Hercules sat on the small column to rest a bit while Meg stood to the side, and the others faced the demigod.

"So, did you find those friends of yours?" Hercules asked.

"Still working on it," Sora admitted. "When we got here, we ran into Meg..." He realized what he said. "Meg-mega-trouble, I mean. So we had to help somebody out."

 _Smooth_ , Vanitas thought, which Sora heard in his head.

"We tried to teach Hades a thing or two," Sora continued. "But the Underworld drained all our strength. Don't suppose you have any ideas?"

"Well, there is a stone that guards against the Underworld's curse," Hercules explained. "The gods on Mount Olympus use it whenever they have to go down there."

"Think we could use it?" Sora asked.

"Sure, why not!" Hercules answered. "I'll go get it for you."

"Thanks!" Donald said.

"Real nice of you!" Goofy said.

"But Hades is no pushover, even if you've got the Olympus Stone," Hercules warned, causing Sora, Donald, and Goofy to look down in sadness. "And I have a match today, so I can't go with you..."

 _I would say 'remember how we beat him in the Hades Cup last year',_ Vanitas thought. _But the three of them aren't exactly as strong as they were when we fought him that day. Stupid comas._

"Know what you need?" Hercules asked. "Training! Why don't you go talk to Phil?"

"Hey, good idea!" Sora agreed.

They went through the hallway in front of them and exited in one of the fields where they fought in all the games. They found Phil on one of the tiled patches, tinkering with some urns.

"Hey, champ, how ya feelin'?" Phil asked, not even looking towards them as he walked between the urns. "Better rest up for tomorrow's match. Nobody's gonna pay to see worn-out hero. Capiche? Remember what I told you. Victory in the games comes down to simple words: Eat, bathe, sleep!"

As per usual, Goofy counted the man's words with his fingers for authenticity, and the miscounted number caused them to start laughing, which got Phil's attention. He turned towards them looking angry, but that anger faded into a happy smile at the sight of his other students.

He ran towards them with a laugh and exclaimed, "Hey, if it ain't the junior heroes!"

"Looking good, Phil!" Sora complimented.

"Never better!" Phil remarked. He looked at Vanitas. "Nice to see those robes are still holdin' up well, V."

"Phil helped you get those robes?" Donald asked.

"Oh, yeah, recommended a good thread guy," Vanitas told them. "I gave him a few extra hundred for adding in some spells I gave him."

"Well, that was real nice of ya," Goofy commented.

"So, how you guys been?" Phil asked. "Have you earned your 'true hero' wings yet?"

Sora stood in a hero's pose and looked up, but then looked back down as he and Donald winced.

"Nope, you ain't got what it takes," Phil remarked, causing the two to exclaim at him in surprise. "So, what's up?"

They explained to him their plan to fight Hades in the Underworld. Needless to say, his reaction wasn't what they wanted.

"Ha ha ha!" Phil laughed. "You four are gonna take on Hades?"

"What's so funny!?" Donald asked, offended.

"You got nerve," Phil admitted. "I like that. Hey, you never know; stranger things have happened, right? Better get cracking, boys!"

Sora then started a training system, where he had to destroy urns and collect orbs that were inside. This went on for quite a while, and gave Vanitas flashbacks to when Roxas did this himself, which made him smile sadly. Once they were done, the tiles and columns were cleared away, and Hercules walked out to join them. The four off worlders walked up to the demigod, and Phil walked up as well.

"Listen, I gotta take off as well," Phil announced.

"Where to?" Sora asked.

"None of your beeswax," the satyr told Sora before turning and walking away.

Hercules then turned towards the group, sadly.

"Sorry, guys," he told them. "The Olympus Stone has been stolen."

"What!?" Sora exclaimed in surprise at the same time Goofy asked, "By who?"

"We don't know who did it yet," Hercules admitted. "All we're sure of is that it was a guy in a black-hooded cloak. And he had accomplices; a bunch of creatures in white."

"Demyx, that son of a bitch," Vanitas muttered as Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at each other with nods of the head.

"Someone you know?" Hercules asked.

"I think so," Sora confirmed. "Hey, if we can get the Olympus Stone back, can we borrow it for a while?"

"Sure," Hercules told him. "By the way, you haven't seen Meg around, have you?" The four shook their heads. "Oh, okay..."

He looked down in sadness.

"What's wrong, your hero-ness?" Hades asked, suddenly appearing behind Hercules and putting a hand on his shoulder, causing him to start frowning. "Feeling under the weather?" Hercules backed up and got in a fighting stance. "You know, I thought staying in perfect shape was part of the hero job description..." Goofy tapped Sora on the shoulder. "You know what I'm saying?"

"Oh, right..." Sora said in remembrance. "Hades, we gotta talk!"

"Uh, I think we're past that part, dude," Vanitas commented.

Hades proved they were very past that part by simply flicking Sora on the forehead, and knocking him onto his back.

"I came to share a bit of mildly interesting news," the Lord of the Dead announced as Hercules walked towards him. "Seems your dear and sweet little Nutmeg..."

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared behind Hercules.

"...went and got herself lost in the Underworld," Hades finished with a chuckle.

"You mean you kidnapped her!" Hercules accused.

"J'accuse!" Vanitas elaborated with a bad French accent, all while thinking, _What is with all the damsel in distress shit? Belle with Maleficent back in C.O. Jasmine with Jafar. Wendy and Kairi on Hook's ship. No wonder Disney made Mulan._ *** _1_ ***

"Well, maybe..." Hades continued with a smirk. "But why get caught up in the details?"

Hercules whistled with his fingers, and a large white Pegasus with a blue tail and an equally blue mane on his head flew up over the walls and landed next to him.

"Where was _he_ last time?" Vanitas asked as Hercules petted the horse's neck.

"You can't leave now, okay?" Hades told Hercules. "You've got a very important match today, against, um..." He smirked. "The bloodthirsty Hydra! I mean, if you don't stick around, who knows what kind of 'accidents' might happen?"

"Yeah, accidents you cause," Sora remarked.

"Like I said: details, who needs 'em?" Hades admitted.

"You're just a coward," Hercules accused.

"Ah, well," Hades said as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. His voice reverberated, "Can't all be heroes."

Hercules crossed his arms and looked down in thought before looking up at Sora and Vanitas in front of him.

"Can you handle this?" Hercules asked them.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas assured him.

"You got it!" Donald added, fists on his sides. "We're heroes!"

"Junior heroes, Donald," Goofy corrected him once again, much to the duck's annoyance.

"You take care of the Hydra," Sora instructed. "We'll handle the rest."

"I'm counting on you," Hercules told them before looking up at Pegasus. "You gotta find Meg."

Pegasus nodded his head and flew up into the air and out of sight.

"Couldn't he have given us a ride?" Vanitas asked as he and the others looked up at where they last saw the horse with wings.

The four reluctantly went back down into the Underworld, where they saw Phil on the ground, unconscious, where the blue fire used to be on the Y shaped area.

"Phil!" Sora exclaimed as they ran over to where the satyr was.

"Ooh, ooh..." Phil winced as he got up.

"What happened?" Sora asked.

"I spotted this strange guy dressed all in black," Phil explained. "I chased after him, but he turned on me. Next thing I know, I'm seeing stars."

"All dressed in black!?" Donald exclaimed.

"And the fire's gone," Vanitas announced. "Demyx, that jackass, can use water."

"Sounds like we've got our prime suspect!" Goofy announced.

"He's the one who stole the Olympus Stone," Sora informed Phil.

"Theft and assault," Vanitas announced. "He's a double offender. This is literally the most I've ever seen him do at once."

"Where did he run off to?" Goofy asked.

"Too the Underworld," Phil informed them, looking past him to the green mossed doorway behind him. "He's a bad apple, all right. And all I wanted was to find a backup hero. Just in case Herc needed to take a break."

"Heroes, eh?" Sora asked. "You could have just asked!"

"You know someone!?" Phil asked, eager.

They summoned their weapons and stood in battle stances to emphasize what they meant.

"Oh, good one..." Phil said, deflating and looking down.

The four went through the mossed doorway and entered a large cave. They fought through Heartless as they made their way to the pathway at the bottom.

"Man..." Sora said, spinning his aching shoulder. "This Underworld curse is really getting to me."

"We've gotta get that Olympus Stone back fast!" Goofy announced.

The quartet continued their trek through the caverns until they went uphill and found themselves in an atrium, with a set of stairs leading up to a large set of double doors. Standing between the stairs and them was Demyx, looking at the doors. While Vanitas pulled out a Remington shotgun, Demyx turned towards them in confusion.

"Ah!" he exclaimed in surprise. "You!" Demyx slipped off his hood, revealing his face and hair. "Wait a sec... Roxas?"

"Excuse me?" Sora asked, genuinely confused, while missing the slightly pained look on Vanitas's face.

"Roxas?" Demyx persisted before sighing out. "Oh, it's no use."

"Huh?" Sora asked. "What are you talking about?"

Demyx reached into his pocket for something, before looking up at Vanitas in realization.

"Hey, you're that guy that helped him on that world!" he announced. "What was it... Vanitas Jordan, yeah! You fought our boss after I told him about you."

"Yeah, and I'd _really_ like to repay you," Vanitas told him, pumping his shotgun in emphasis.

"Maybe later," Demyx chuckled nervously before pulling out a piece of paper. "Let's see here... 'If the subject fails to respond, use aggression to liberate his true disposition'... Right. *mutters* Did they ever pick the wrong guy for this one..."

"Saïx so wrote that," Vanitas muttered as Demyx reached into his pockets with each hand.

"You're bizarre..." Sora told Demyx before crossing his arms.

Demyx then pulled out the Olympus Stone, making Sora, Donald, and Goofy jump in surprise.

"He's gotta be the thief!" Goofy announced, pointing at the man.

"We already knew that," Vanitas reminded the dog.

"Now that's just plain rude!" Demyx commented.

He held up the Olympus Stone, and golden energy appeared around him. The other three got in their battle stances as Vanitas pointed his shotgun, while Demyx's sitar appeared in his hands.

"Dance water, dance!" Demyx announced before strumming the strings on his sitar.

Water forms that looked like him then flew out from him, with some taking the shape of musical eighth notes. Vanitas tried firing his shotgun at Demyx, but something was protecting him during this, because it had no effect. So, he resolved to fighting the forms with his friends. Sora had figured out that when they were shaped like eighth notes, he could use them to attack other forms, which is exactly what he did. Donald also figured out that it was easy to destroy them with fire. That didn't make much sense since they were supposed to be made of water, but Vanitas shrugged it off.

The four of them kept up their attack against the forms, with Sora repeatedly attacking them using other forms, Donald using fire, Goofy with his shield, and Vanitas with his shotgun and some fire of his own. Once they had defeated 100 forms, Demyx admitted defeat while announcing, "Not bad, Roxas."

The man winced while grabbing his left shoulder in pain, which didn't make sense since the only time they attacked him was when Vanitas fired the shotgun at his _head_ , which didn't even do anything.

"Roxas, come back to us!" Demyx begged before disappearing in a surge of darkness.

"Guy's a broken record," Sora commented as he rested his Keyblade on his shoulders.

"Accurate metaphor," Vanitas admitted as Donald looked on the ground.

"Hey, look!" Donald announced before walking over to where Demyx had stood.

The duck picked up the Olympus Stone and walked over to Sora to hand it to him. Sora took the Stone and held it up in the air as the others gathered next to him. The same golden energy that had surrounded Demyx appeared around the four of them, signifying they were back to full strength. This was even more confirmed when the energy faded and Sora was briefly surrounded in gold again.

"Let's go!" Sora announced. "Meg needs our help!"

They ran up the stairs and through the doors to find themselves in a circular chamber. In the center of the chamber was a large, purple and blue pillar that reached up towards the ceiling. On the ground in front of this pillar was a large stone with the design of Meg on it, and a yellow keyhole.

Sora did the usual thing of pointing the Keyblade at the keyhole. A see through sphere appeared over the tip of the blade before a beam shot out and into the keyhole. The rock and the pillar then were completely encased in bright white light, which faded after a few seconds. In its place was now a large, green light that they knew would serve as teleportation.

"Meg!" Donald called out.

"Almost there," Sora confirmed.

They exited the teleporting light with their weapons drawn. The light had taken them into another circular chamber with a white floor, and walls that went up very high, designed like bones. Meg was nearby with her arms bound by black clouds. Despite the situation and the Lord of the Dead next to her looking at them with crossed arms, she smiled at the sight of them.

Hades laughed as Donald and Sora jumped in surprise at seeing him.

"Now that's what I call a key," the god muttered. "Gee, thanks for your help! Now have a nice day."

Hades disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and Meg looked behind the quartet.

"Sora, behind you!" she announced.

The quartet backed up when they saw Pete standing there with Hook Bats on either side, all while he laughed triumphantly.

"What's wrong?" Pete laughed cockily. "Can't fight in the Underworld. Oh, boo-hoo-hoo," He finished with even more cocky laughter.

"Better think again!" Sora countered as they stood back in their battle stances.

The Bats surrounded them, but they were easily taken care of with their weapons. Sora even managed to grab them by the hooks and attack with _them_ while Vanitas knocked a fireball at them, then Pete, with his fireball. Once the Hook Bats were destroyed, Donald directed his Thunder and Goofy directed his shield swings towards Pete himself. With Sora's help from many combo attacks, and Vanitas's pretty hard aluminum bat, they managed to dwindle down the cat's health by a great margin. *** _2_ ***

Pete tried summoning Soldiers to help out, but they were taken care of pretty easily. Surprisingly, none of Pete's attacks damaged Meg, who had been running around trying to dodge attacks the whole time. There were two moments where Pete surrounded himself with a see through purple orb of energy that healed him a bit, but their attacks quickly took off what was put back on. The fight gave Vanitas flashbacks to Roxas once again, but he brushed it off.

The four eventually backed up against the wall with Meg as Pete stood on the other end with Hook Bats in front of him. Sora slashed at an approaching Bat, but more and more were taking their place.

"There's too many!" Sora announced.

"Let's go!" Donald added.

Sora swung his Keyblade, and the clouds around her arms were destroyed. Pete's attention was then drawn to the sound of someone exclaiming behind him. He turned just in time to be knocked down by Hook Bats. Hercules then ran past Pete towards the group, causing them to smile.

"Sorry I'm late," he quipped.

Hercules then whistled once again, causing Pegasus to appear out of nowhere, stomp on the newly standing Pete, knocking him to the ground again.

"Get Meg outta here," Hercules instructed, lifting said woman up and placing her on the horse's back. "I'll meet you back at the Coliseum."

"What about you?" Sora asked.

"I'm gonna show these guys what happens when they mess with a true hero," Hercules announced, flexing one arm.

The quartet nodded their heads at him before they followed Pegasus back towards the teleportation light, much to the detriment of Pete.

"Now wait a sec!" the cat exclaimed, running after them before being stopped in his tracks by Hercules running and standing in front of him.

The four of them ran through the light and found Pegasus waiting for them in front of the doors out of this room. Meg as sitting on his back, looking at them with worry in her eyes.

"Sora... I won't leave him," she announced.

"He'll be okay," Sora assured her.

"Look, even Herc has his limits," Meg told them. "He can't keep winning forever."

"Then we'll go back him up," Sora told her.

"We're on the job," Vanitas added, gesturing to the teleportation light with his bat.

Pegasus then stretched his neck down so he was face to face with Donald, who instructed, "Get Meg outta here!"

The quartet ran back through the teleportation light, and stood with a tired looking Hercules facing Pete, who was annoyed at their re-arrivals, and many Heartless.

The main threat was Pete, so Sora ignited Valor Form and took out the Heartless with just a single combo attack with both Keyblades, it was that wicked. Sora then moved towards Pete, who surrounded himself in a purple sphere again. Sora then jumped above it and slashed it with his Keyblade, causing it to roll over towards Hercules. Hercules punched the ball, which was destroyed and threw Pete to the side.

Sora and Hercules then had a shield surround them as falling rocks fell towards them. Once that ended, Sora started the wicked combo attacks against Pete, while Donald shot Thunder a few more times, and Vanitas attacked the cat with his baseball bat. After just a few of their combined attacks, the cat was defeated.

Pete then stood in front of the teleportation light and looked at him, trying to act cool after being defeated.

"This place gives me the creeps," he announced. "I'll deal with you nitwits next time!"

Pete ran towards the green light, and the group winced as they felt the chamber rumbling around them. They then regrouped and ran towards the light, moving as fast as they could towards a safe place.

They stopped running when the five of them were back in the center of that Y shaped intersection area they had arrived in. The group stopped in front of the pond of green water when a familiar voice called out.

"Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite hero washout," Hades remarked behind them. "You really blew it this time."

They turned to see the god walking up to them and stopping.

"No one likes a sore loser, Hades," Sora told him.

"Can it, keyboy!" Hades snapped.

"Then let me," Hercules suggested. "No one likes a sore loser, Hades."

"Yeah, yeah, Styx and stones," Hades muttered, walking along to the side. "Hey, maybe you should go check on that Hydra you neglected to finish off. I hear things are really _falling_ _apart_ up there, champ."

"Wait!" Sora exclaimed as Hades disappeared in a flash of smoke.

"Hate to run, but I've got another little diversion to attend to," Hades's voice announced above them.

Hercules immediately turned towards the stairs up to the coliseum and ran towards it.

"Neglected to finish off..." Vanitas muttered before realization set in. "If the Hydra isn't dead... oh, crap."

They ran up the stairs and through the doorway to the area outside the coliseum to see Hercules kneeling in shame in the center. Sora moved to the side as a large piece of wall narrowly missed where he was standing. The Hydra was standing where the vestibule used to be, and they could see pretty clearly that the walls that were on either side of the vestibule were smashed to pieces, along with the giant warrior statues.

Phil, Meg, and Pegasus gathered around Hercules and looked at him in worry.

"Champ!" Phil greeted. "You're safe!"

"I failed..." Hercules said, guilt in his voice while looking around the remains of the ruined walls.

"It's not your fault!" Meg assured him.

"I left everyone unprotected," Hercules told them. He slammed his fists into the ground in shame. "Hades was right. I'm just a...a washout."

"Aw, come on, champ!" Phil told him. "I didn't train you to think like that."

"Wonderboy..." Meg said as Sora and Vanitas ran up to join the three around Hercules.

"Phil's right," Sora told the demigod. "This is no time to beat yourself up."

"I've been here, man," Vanitas said. "I know what it's like to have something bad happen and feel like it's your fault. The best that we can do is accept that what happened happened and try to find a way to fix it."

Hercules got back up on his knees and looked up, remarking, "I'm some hero..." His entire form was then seemingly dyed grey. Almost as if he had lost his light.

The Hydra's roars garnered their attentions. Meg picked up Hercules with one of his arms around her shoulders, and they moved to the side as the Hydra walked it's front legs onto the sand. The off worlders stood in their battle stances with Vanitas holding his machete in front of the monster.

"Herc needs help!" Donald announced.

"Fuck yeah," Vanitas agreed.

"Don't suppose you've got room for one more?" Phil asked, moving into place like he was doing karate next to them.

Meg and Pegasus ran behind the satyr and Meg announced, "We're in."

Sora and Vanitas jumped up into the air as the Hydra swung its tail on the ground in an attack. Donald and Goofy still got hit, though. They then had to start dodging as the Hydra made pillars of blue fire appear all around, something Vanitas didn't remember Hydras doing in the myths. The tail still swinging around ended up knocking out Donald. The Hydra then lowered its head down towards them, and Sora started using combo attacks while Goofy swung his shield and Vanitas slashed his machete.

After a few attacks, the head rolled back, dizzy, so Sora moved in for an attack. He lunged forwards and slashed his Keyblade at the neck, severing the head and destroying it completely.

"All right," Vanitas announced, pointing his hand at the stump. "Now we gotta..."

He was interrupted by the Hydra body slamming the stump down into the sand, cutting it off completely.

"...Burn the stump," Vanitas finished with uncertainty.

"Why?" Goofy asked, confused.

Three Hydra heads then jumped up out of the sand, around them on the yard.

"That's why!" Vanitas exclaimed, doing a backflip to avoid one of the heads snapping at him.

"Hey, Sora!" Phil yelled out, jumping up and down on one of the broken walls near the Hydra. "Get up on the Hydra's back!"

"I can't believe that became an internet meme," Vanitas commented. *** _3_ ***

Sora understood what he wanted and jumped up onto the Hydra's back. Phil then threw one of the larger urns up into the air, and Sora jumped up to meet it. Once it was in front of him, Sora struck the urn, causing it to fall and shatter against the Hydra's back, which stunned all three of the heads for a bit.

"Pretty effective meme, though," Vanitas admitted.

When Sora landed, they directed their attacks towards the one closest to the normal leaderboards. Once they dwindled its health down, Sora slashed through this head as well, but the sand covered the stump again before Vanitas could burn it. This process repeated with the next two heads, all down to the sand covering them before Vanitas could burn the stumps.

In response, the Hydra body pulled its now seven heads out, roaring out at the group.

"Okay, from now on, I'm the only one allowed to cut off Hydra heads!" Vanitas announced, encasing his blade in fire. He furrowed his eyebrows at the heads. "Wait, the math doesn't check out here..."

That had to be thrown out the window as the heads pulled back for an attack, so Sora started his recently relearned team attack, Unity Limit. They floated into the air and started with a series of slashes with their weapons before they lunged forwards with an attack. The next attack was Donald floating above them and having his attacks of flares appear in front of the four before burning at the heads. After that, Vanitas glowed red, and they all slashed their weapons, which were encased in fire. The attack after that involved them spinning their weapons in front of them and... shooting Drive orbs? *** _4_ ***

The four of them then landed in a circle in front of the Hydra and raised their weapons up. Energy provided by all of them appeared in the air, which glowed brightly in an attack that drained the Hydra of some of its health, before the team attack ended.

The next course of action was dodging the orbs of darkness that flew over the ground and towards them. And then keep dodging as the multiple heads then slammed into the ground. And then more pillars of blue fire. Once they got done dodging, Pegasus flew towards the group, and Sora and Vanitas jumped up onto his back, dodging the bites from the heads.

As Donald kept shooting up Thunder magic, the two rode on Pegasus as he flew around the many long necks. They went around in loops over the necks and towards the heads, slashing their weapons as the heads got close enough. Once they finished their attacks, Pegasus dropped them down in on the ground again, just as the heads scrunched up in a stun once again.

This time, Vanitas stayed ready as Sora got prepared in front of the Hydra. Sora lunged forwards and slashed, cutting off and destroying all the heads at once, and Vanitas immediately made fire appear over all seven of the stumps. The Hydra was destroyed, and Sora relearned Thunder. The burned, headless body spasmed for a second before it landed on the ground hard, along with one of the severed heads.

"Good thing I know my mythology," Vanitas smirked with his friends as they observed the dead Hydra. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Though the number of heads was a little different..."

They disposed of the Hydra remains, and Hercules and Meg sat down on the remains of the steps to the vestibule, with everyone else in a semicircle staring at him in worry.

"I let you down," Hercules told them, still sad. "I'm just... no use."

"It's not your fault," Meg assured him once again. "Hey, even a god would be exhausted.

"She's right," Sora assured him. "Give yourself a chance to rest."

"There won't be any games for a while, anyway," Goofy commented as Meg put a hand on Hercules's.

Meg then stood up and faced the quartet.

"Don't worry about Wonderboy here," she assured them. "I'll look after him. Sora, V, Donald, Goofy, I owe you big time."

"Hey, it's no big deal," Sora assured her. "Just let us know if Hades or the Heartless start acting up. We'll take care of it."

"Yeah, that's what heroes are for!" Donald announced.

"When did you three make hero?" Meg asked.

"Probably when we saved an entire city from an alien army some months ago," Vanitas commented.

"But let's save that for another time..." Sora announced. "We have to hit the road."

"Okay," Meg agreed. "Don't be strangers."

"Gawrsh, I hope ya feel better soon, Hercules," Goofy told the demigod.

"Yeah..." Hercules said with a slight nod of the head.

"Phil?" Donald asked, facing the satyr.

"Oh, well, take care you guys!" Phil told the group with slight surprise. "Stay a little longer next time! We got some serious training to catch up on."

"Well, time to go," Sora announced, looking at his three ship mates. "Oh, I almost forgot. The Olympus Stone."

Sora reached into his pocket to grab the stone, and Hercules stood up to accept it. Hercules reached out a hand to take the Stone, but light then suddenly flared from it, to their surprise. Sora then smirked at Goofy and Vanitas as the Stone floated up in the air.

Light then gathered in a large, see through sphere at the end, and then the design of a crown appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. Light then shot out of the Olympus Stone and up into the air, which formed a Keyhole. Sora jumped back, swung his Keyblade around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

The four then returned to the Gummi Ship, ready for the next world for them to find, along with hopes for an explanation to Vanitas's condition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Remember, he got a full lesson on Disney stuff while on Earth 616 with Tony supplying some of the movies in his room on the tower. He knows this stuff
> 
> *2 I still remember, the first time I ever did this fight, the first move I made was to go into Valor Form because I was just so excited to have that back on the world. Plus, I always liked how the clothes stayed the same during cutscenes if you had the form on beforehand
> 
> *3 I was actually surprised to learn that was a meme. Well, not that surprised
> 
> *4 I really don't get that part
> 
> On what I mentioned last chapter with including more in depth parts for the Final Fantasy characters, I saw that apparently by KH1 and 2, Leon is in his mid 20s, Aerith is in her early 20's, and Yuffie is in her late teens. Since I portrayed them as young children back in the Birth By Sleep story, and there's a nine year gap between that and KH1, I'm obviously gonna go back at some point and adjust them so they're their proper ages in that story


	9. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang returns to Disney Castle. Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, there's a problem

The gate from the Keyhole ended up leading the group to Disney Castle, which coincidentally turned out to be Donald and Goofy's home world. As they landed the ship in the hanger, Vanitas prepared his smartphone to take pictures that he was _definitely_ gonna show their friends on Earth 616 the next time they saw them.

The four travelers exited the ship onto a platform, all of them looking around in curiosity.

"This is your castle..." Sora assessed. "Must be nice to be home, huh?"

"Guys?" Vanitas asked, seeing that the two of them were still looking around intently.

"Ya know, somethin' just don't feel quite right..." Goofy said in thought.

"Yeah," Donald agreed, crossing his arms with a frown.

"That's never a good sign," Vanitas muttered to Sora.

High pitched panting garnered their attentions to the top of the stairs above them. The four looked to see Chip and Dale running through the doorway and gasp at the sight of them. They then slid down the small railing on the stairs towards the group.

"You're back!" Chip greeted as they reached the ground with the four of them.

"Move it!" Dale instructed. "Let's go!"

"Queen Minnie needs to see you!" Chip added.

"The castle's in danger!" Dale told them. "Hurry! To the library!"

"Nice to meet you guys in person, too," Vanitas quipped.

The four of them went up the two flights of stairs and through the crown shaped doorway. Then began the long trek up a giant, circular stairway up.

"Oh, how I wish my rocket shoes weren't busted," Vanitas commented.

After a good, long while of walking up the stairs, they reached the top and Sora pushed open a set of green doors which led them into the garden. The hidden staircase to the Gummi Hanger was behind the doors to a hedge shaped castle.

"Conspicuous and out of the way," Vanitas complimented. "Nice job."

"Thanks," Donald said.

To their surprise, a Minute Bomb Heartless appeared on top of the hedge shaped like Clarabelle Cow, along with three Shadows on the ground around it. Sora started combo attacks against the Shadows, Donald shot Thunder up at the Bomb, Goofy swung his shield at another Shadow, and Vanitas shot fire at Minute Bombs that then appeared along the pathway next to them. That turned out to be a mistake, because it caused the last few seconds of the countdown to start prematurely. The group moved out of the way as the Bombs all exploded one at a time, knocking them back a bit.

"Okay, new rule: don't set those Heartless on fire," Vanitas announced.

"Good idea," Donald agreed.

They got up and Vanitas pulled out his sledgehammer to attack. The four of them fought through lots of Soldiers and Bombs just to reach the door that led out of the courtyard they were in. Then, they had to fight through maybe hundreds of Shadows just to go down the hallway from that door to the library. During which, Sora used Valor From once again and gained the ability High Jump. After they took out all the Shadows, they moved quickly to the set of double doors at the end of the hallway.

Inside the library, they found Queen Minnie with her back to them as she looked up at the book shelves in front of her. The quartet walked to the center of the room, and Donald stood at attention with a salute.

"Your Majesty!" he greeted. "Queen Minnie! We're back!"

Minnie turned towards them and smiled.

"You're here," she said, pressing her hands together in relief.

Goofy stood at attention with a salute, asking, "Your Royal Highness, did ya happen to summon us?"

"Yes," Minnie confirmed as Sora walked up and bluntly pushed the two so that they were looking at him.

"Where's the King?" he asked.

"You know nothing about interacting with royalty, do you?" Vanitas asked his brunette lookalike.

Minnie just kept smiling at them, even while Donald jumped up and grabbed Sora by the ear, pulling him down a little roughly.

"Excuse him," Donald told the Queen. "This is our friend, Sora. And that's..."

"Ah, Sora!" Minnie exclaimed. "Vanitas!"

"You already know Vanitas, Your Majesty?" Goofy asked.

Vanitas had his eyebrows furrowed in equal confusion for a second before the memory came to him, with a tiny bit of head pain.

"Oh, yeah," he said with a slight smile. "Huey, Dewey, and Louie's ice cream machine. My buddy, Ven, helped them figure out how to work it. Pete was dressed up in that... stupid fucking superhero costume." He looked to the side and sighed out, "Good times."

"The King told me all about the two of you in his letters," Minnie continued. "He said you're very brave young men." She looked at Vanitas sympathetically. "And I am very sorry to hear about the misfortune you've endured since we last met."

Vanitas nodded in thanks.

"So, do you know where he is?" Sora asked Minnie.

Minnie shook her head "no," and Sora, Donald, and Goofy sighed out in disappointment.

"Your Majesty, what are Heartless doing in your castle?" Donald asked.

"Oh, my... so those are the Heartless," Minnie said, looking to the side.

"Don't worry," Sora assured her. "We'll take care of 'em!"

"Sora, Vanitas, I know I can count on the two of you," Minnie said, facing them once again. "Now, there's something I'd like all of you to come and see. Would you please escort me to the audience chamber?"

The four of them all stood at attention and saluted, simultaneously announcing, "Hut!"

The Queen's sudden gasp in surprise had them tilting their heads in similar unison.

"I forgot to warn everyone else in the castle about the danger!" she realized. "We must be sure they're hidden somewhere safe!"

"Okay, we'll go tell them," Sora announced.

"The whole castle!?" Donald exclaimed.

"This sounds like a 'let's split up' situation," Vanitas told them. "Though that rarely ever goes well in horror movies, but I guess this doesn't really count as a horror movie."

 _No way Disney would make a horror movie that's actually scary_ , Vanitas thought.

"I'll make sure that everyone knows what's going on," Sora announced.

"You've never been to this castle; you don't know the way around," Vanitas told him.

"Exactly," Donald agreed. "You'd just get lost!"

"Okay," Sora relented. "Then V and I'll stay with the Queen."

"Good," Donald said.

"All righty then, see ya later!" Goofy told them.

Donald and Goofy turned towards the doors and ran towards them, closing them behind them as they ran into the hallway.

"Um, the audience chamber, right, ma'am?" Sora asked Minnie.

"Yes, Sora," she confirmed. "Let's be on our way."

"Let's roll," Vanitas announced, pulling out his fire axe, and preparing a Beretta 93R handgun in one of his straps serving as a holster.

They walked back into the hallway to immediately find themselves facing a semi circle of Shadows in front of them. Sora and Minnie then floated into the air, and used combined energy to make a large pillar of light flare, damaging the Heartless and also knocking them back pretty far.

"No wonder you're the Queen," Vanitas laughed before they started leading Minnie down the hallway.

She sent out Pearl magic that bounced off approaching Heartless, including the Minute Bombs and Shadows that got closer and closer. Vanitas fired his Beretta with the three round burst, causing good damage to the Heartless. Sora and Minnie then used another pillar of light to knock the Heartless back again. They kept up their attacks, with Sora using his Keyblade, Vanitas using his gun and axe, Minnie using Pearl magic, and Sora and Minnie using combined pillars of light to attack, until they reached a gigantic set of purple double doors covered in pink light, except for a shape of Mickey's crest in the center.

"Just one moment," Minnie told them once all the Shadows, Minute Bombs, and the Bolt Tower were destroyed. She turned towards the doors and held her hand up to it. "As soon as the trouble started, I made sure to seal this room."

The light in front of the doors glowed brightly before disappearing completely. A rectangular shape just a little taller than Sora and Vanitas then creaked inwards in front of them.

"Wait, why are the doors so huge if the entrance inside is just... you know what, never mind," Vanitas said, knowing he probably wasn't really gonna get an answer.

"Now then... shall we?" Minnie asked the boys.

They walked through the doorway to find another unnecessarily long and tall room, which had a red carpet that led across the room towards a blue pedestal that had a throne on it. The three of them looked around to see nothing but the many tall pillars of the room around them, before Bolt Towers suddenly appeared in front of them, seemingly filling the room.

"Not here, too!" Minnie exclaimed in shock.

"We just gotta push past 'em to get to the throne," Vanitas announced.

Minnie continued throwing out Pearl magic, while Vanitas fired with his newly reloaded Beretta. Sora and Minnie continued to use combined pillars of light, pushing aside Bolt Towers and making their way to the throne. It certainly took them a while with how many Bolt Towers there were, but eventually, they managed to make their way to the throne. *** _1_ ***

The three stood on the blue pedestal, with Minnie moving to the throne and Sora and Vanitas facing the still many Bolt Towers with their weapons.

"Come on, give us a break!" Sora exclaimed, tired.

"There's just no end to these pricks," Vanitas remarked, breathing in and out, tired.

Minnie then walked to the side of the throne and tapped something they couldn't see under the left arm. Something then shook, and the blue pedestal they were on started moving to the side, much to Sora and Vanitas's confusion. Light came out from where the pedestal was, glowing brighter and brighter as it continued to move. After a few seconds, the thing was completely to the side, and light glowed so bright that it covered everyone and everything in the room.

Once the light faded, Sora and Vanitas opened their eyes, and were very surprised to see that the room was now completely devoid of Heartless.

"Whoa..." Sora said in amazement.

"The room below is called the 'Hall of the Cornerstone'," Minnie explained, walking towards the staircase that was now uncovered. "Our castle has always been safe from worlds that are evil, thanks to the Cornerstone of Light which we keep down there."

"The Cornerstone... of Light?" Sora asked.

"I think I've heard of it," Vanitas said. "It's one of the more powerful stones in existence. Right up there with the Infinity Stones. It might be larger than one of those things, but it's still plenty powerful."

"Infinity Stones?" Sora asked, still curious.

"I'll tell you eventually," Vanitas informed him.

They ran after Minnie down the stairs and into a room that was also unnecessarily large. This time, though, the room was covered with gigantic thorned vines all around the walls. There was very little space in the dark room, which was enough for Minnie to walk over to the giant, circular Cornerstone on an ornate looking pedestal. Donald and Goofy walked through the doorway behind them, finally rejoining the group.

"This is the Castle's cherished Cornerstone," Minnie announced. "But look. The thorns..."

The quartet did exactly that, looking around in surprise.

"Now _this_ looks like something that belongs in a horror movie," Vanitas muttered.

"They must be the work of someone very evil," Minnie continued. "I wonder what this could mean..."

Sora and Vanitas walked up next to Minnie to view the Cornerstone. Then, to their surprise, a familiar green and black surge of fire appeared between them, and a holographic form of Maleficent appeared facing the giant stone.

"Maleficent!" Donald exclaimed.

"No way," Sora said as the evil fairy turned towards them and smiled creepily.

Vanitas grasped his head as he got a vision. He saw them leaving Yen Sid's tower, then Yen Sid leaving himself. Then, the evil looking raven he remembered appeared in the room with the three fairies and deposited Maleficent's cloak on the ground. The fairies announced that the memories were coming back, despite their biggest attempts to make sure that didn't happen, then the cloak rose up into the air. The fairies disappeared in flashes of light as the cloak rose completely, and Maleficent stood in it with her staff in hand. She then laughed in triumph.

"We just missed it!" Vanitas exclaimed as the vision ended. "Back at Yen Sid's tower, her raven left her cloak in the room with the fairies after we left. She used their memories to reconstruct herself. The fairies ran, and this bitch went off to find Pete."

"Well, well, well," Maleficent said with amusement in her voice. "What have we here? If it isn't the wretched Keyblade holder, and his pitiful lackeys!"

"What!?" Donald exclaimed, offended, staff in hand. "Now you're gonna deal with me!"

"All in good time," Maleficent said as Donald charged through her projection and rammed right into the Cornerstone pedestal, hard. "I promise you'll be able to partake of my vengeance. But you must be patient."

"Just what are you doing here, Maleficent!?" Minnie demanded to know.

"Ah, Queen Minnie," Maleficent said with a mocking bow. "Radiant, as always. I'm here on a property venture. I want this castle for my own. However, it's a bit too 'bright' for what I have in mind. I suppose I'll just have to fill every room with my personal touch of darkness."

"Sorry, bitch, this castle ain't for sale," Vanitas announced as the fairy turned to the Cornerstone, trying to touch it, but getting her hand knocked back with light.

"You'd better stop right now if you know what's good for you!" Minnie announced as the Sora stood in his battle stance with Vanitas.

"Ooh, how frightening," Maleficent taunted. "Very well. I'll stop..." Sora got out of his battle stance, not seeing that Maleficent wasn't finished. "Just as soon as this castle belongs to me!"

She disappeared in green and black fire, but her laughter reverberated throughout the room for a few seconds before ending.

"What a hag," Sora commented.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before," Maleficent said, looking down in sadness. "I looked through all the records in the library, but I couldn't find a single clue."

"Ohh!" Goofy exclaimed in realization, making everyone look at him as Donald walked over to join them. "We should go ask somebody who knows lotsa stuff that ain't in any book!"

Vanitas snapped his fingers and pointed at Goofy with a smile on his face.

"Merlin!" he announced. "Great idea, Goof!"

"Yes!" Minnie agreed. "That's perfect! Merlin just might know something about this mess. Let's ask his advice!"

"We saw him in Hollow Bastion, right?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah, he's got a house there," Vanitas added.

"Let's go!" Sora agreed.

They ran out of the Hall of the Cornerstone and back through the hallways towards the hanger, ready to get help.

* * *

Piloting the ship back to Hollow Bastion, the group didn't hesitate to land near Merlin's house and walk inside. Vanitas was a little uncertain about them just walking right in without knocking, but given that they were good friends with the wizard, he just shrugged it off.

"Anybody home?" Sora asked as they looked around the room.

"You know, maybe he should have invested in a larger house," Vanitas commented as he looked at the table, bed, and computer all in the same room. "You know, for more privacy. Especially with the bed right there."

"Merlin!" Donald announced, trying to get the wizard's attention.

"Our castle's in danger!" Goofy added.

Smoke flared behind them, and Vanitas turned to see the wizard in question standing there looking at them.

"What is all that racket?" Merlin asked. He laughed, "Ho-ho! I thought... oh, it-it's you!"

The four walked over to the wizard, and he commented, "It looks like you've learned a bit since the last time I saw you."

"Really?" Sora eagerly asked.

Donald exclaimed to get attention, "Wait a minute! Let's talk about the problem! It's Maleficent! She's back!"

"Where?" Merlin asked, eyes wide. "Inside your castle!?"

"Yep!" Goofy confirmed. "And Heartless, too!"

"Just a lot of creatures there that shouldn't be allowed," Vanitas commented.

"Oh, dear..." Merlin said in thought.

Donald quickly and urgently explained what was happening to Merlin before the wizard made them appear right back in the Hall of the Cornerstone in a flash of light. Sora, Vanitas, and Goofy looked around in surprise, before Donald realized what happened, too. He crossed his arms and looked annoyed.

"Yeah, we're gonna need you to get the ship for us later," Vanitas told Merlin.

"That won't be a problem," Merlin said. "Perhaps, I'd better just see for myself.

The wizard walked up to the Cornerstone to observe it for himself, humming "Mm-hmm," to himself.

"What's happening, Merlin?" Minnie asked.

"This is not good," Merlin announced. "I-In fact, I-I'm afraid, it's quite serious."

The wizard turned towards them and cleared his throat. He then gestured with his arms, and a large, silver doorway with grey doors appeared just a few feet away in a cloud of smoke, shaking slightly.

"What's that?" Sora asked.

"My boy, that is a gateway to a special world," Merlin announced. "Someone in that world is responsible for what's going on in this castle. Of that, I am certain."

"Oh, boy!" Donald exclaimed eagerly.

"We knew we could count on you, Merlin!" Goofy exclaimed happily.

"Then, we should go get him!" Sora announced as he walked to the doors and reached for the handles.

"Why you assuming it's a guy?" Vanitas asked. "Women can be evil, too."

"Wait a moment!" Melin stopped them. "The perpetrators must be stopped, of course. But there's something else to do first. Somewhere in that world, there should be another door that's identical to this one. I believe our enemies are utilizing that door. As long as it remains open, the castle will be in grave danger. Listen carefully, Sora. You must find that door. And when you do... lock it with your Keyblade."

"Got it!" Sora assured him.

"We got this," Vanitas added.

"You can count on us!" Donald added.

"Now one more thing," Merlin told them. "You're heading into a very special world. While you're there, the nature of that world may tempt you to do something dark. You must resist that temptation at all costs!"

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"You'll know soon enough," Merlin assured them. "I have faith in you, my lads!"

They walked over to the doors, and Vanitas helped his younger doppelgänger pull open the surprisingly heavy doors. Sora and Vanitas led the way into the doors, through the blinding light.

* * *

In a black and white field on a hilltop, a similar doorway shook next to a fence. The doors burst open, and Sora, Vanitas, Donald, and Goofy were thrown out, and landed on the ground pretty roughly. They started pushing themselves up, with Goofy shaking his head to clear some things. He looked up and was surprised.

"Hey, look!" Goofy announced. "There's the Cornerstone of Light!"

Sora and Vanitas stood up and walked over to the Cornerstone, observing that the item was stacked on some bricks rather than the pedestal from in the castle.

"What's going on?" Sora asked, looking down at his hands. "Everything's black and white."

"Plus, we sound like we're talking through a radio," Vanitas told them.

Sora was sort of dressed like how he was during their last journey, with his short sleeved jacket much shorter than before, his shorts were much bigger in width, and his gloves now more similar to Mickey's. Vanitas was dressed similarly to how he was when he was Keyblade Master, with the black pants and jacket with the weird crest on the chest, the bandana around his neck, the rectangular pendent with his signature X around his neck, the not sharp spiked wristband on his left wrist and a string around his right wrist, and the belt around his waist with the chain next to his right leg. Luckily, his sling was still on his back. His scar was even gone. Goofy just wore a vest and two hats, and Donald wore a sailor's shirt and hat. Although, the two of them were very different then they did earlier.

"Hey, this is kinda like...um...uh..." Donald trailed off in thought.

"Deja vu?" Donald asked.

"Yeah, that's it!" Donald confirmed.

"Really?" Sora asked. "Have you been here before?"

Their attentions were drawn to the side as an older Pete, wearing a broken set of overalls, boots, and a Captain's hat ran along the side of the hill they were on, then stopped and looked at them.

"Hey, you!" Pete announced, walking over to them. "Seen any bad guys around here?"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy pointed right at Pete, much to his surprise. Vanitas, however, just furrowed an eyebrow in confusion.

"Why I oughta..." Pete muttered as the other three stood in their battle stances with their weapons. He kept his fists up for a second before looking out then placing his fists against his sides. "Bah! I don't have time to waste on punks like you. So, I guess I'll go easy on ya!"

Pete ran across the hilltop and down a road labelled "Pier."

"Well, there's our villain," Sora announced, and Donald and Goofy nodded their heads in agreement.

"Uh, I'm not so... sure," Vanitas sighed out as his friends already started running towards the Pier road.

Knowing how they tended to do these things, Vanitas followed them down the road after Pete.

They ran down the road into another large field, this one connected to the river. There was a small pier next to the water, where Pete was standing, staring out at the water.

"Guys..." Vanitas said, reaching out for his friends, but they ran over towards the cat and onto the dock.

Pete turned to see them there, and he didn't look too happy to see them.

"What's with you squirts?" he asked. "You got some kinda bone to pick with me?"

"More than one!" Sora announced, resting his fists against his sides.

"Them's fighting words!" Pete announced, swinging his fist in preparation.

The sound of a steamboat whistle rang out, and he looked to the side in thought. Pete walked past them off the pier and along the field, towards the sound of the whistle. Sora, Donald, and Goofy then ran in front of him and stopped him in his tracks.

"Not so fast!" Sora announced as they stood in their battle stances with their weapons.

"I'm not helping on this..." Vanitas muttered.

"What's that for?" Pete asked, raising his fists in preparation, while his hat actually whistled.

Vanitas then realized he recognized this version of Pete, but the others had already started fighting. Sora started using combo attacks while Donald repeatedly shot up Thunder, with Pete exclaiming in pain along the way. The most damage Pete caused was when they knocked him in the air and he landed on the ground and caused a shockwave that damaged them. Donald got back up, then moved his fists out and jumped up and down with one foot out, exclaiming in anger while spinning one of his fists After Sora and Donald's cascades of attacks, Sora blasted the cat with Blizzard, ending the "fight." Pete fell down in response and rubbed his head in pain. *** _2_ ***

"What's you punks' beef with me anyway?" he asked. He tilted his head to the side in thought. "Who are ya? You new around here?"

"Cut the act," Sora told Pete.

The sound of the boat whistle once again got Pete's attention.

"What?" he asked, standing up and turning towards it. But then the sound of bones popping made him stop and fall down again. "Oh, ow!"

Vanitas sighed out and walked over to Sora and Goofy, who was also looking at Pete.

"Ya know, somethin' doesn't seem quite right here," Goofy announced. "Are you sure you're Pete?"

"Well, of _course_ I'm Pete!" Pete announced, looking over his shoulder at them. "I'm the captain of the steamboat. So stop botherin' me, see?" He raised his fist, but another popping sound made him wince again. "So hit the road! I gotta go find the little runt what stole my boat!"

"Oh, my god, you guys are dumber than I thought," Vanitas whispered to his friends. "We're all in black and white, we look like how you used to be... We're somewhere that makes us all younger. And it looks like in this place, there's a version of here Pete from before he turned evil. You guys just beat the shit out of an innocent boat captain!"

The three of them all simultaneously paused, winced, and said with embarrassed faces, "Ohh..."

Goofy took the initiative and walked up to the cat, announcing, "Sorry we attacked ya like that, Capt'n Pete."

Captain Pete turned towards them and stood up.

"Oh, yeah?" he asked. "Well, if you're really sorry, then go find my steamboat."

"Y-yes, sir!" Sora announced.

Another bone popped, making Captain Pete fall to the ground, groaning, "Oh, my achin' back!"

"Here," Vanitas announced, taking out a Potion and pulling off the cork. "Take this."

Captain Pete took the Potion and downed it in one gulp, like it was a shot. The cat winced a bit before nocking his head to one side, feeling the Potion's effects taking place. His back was better in no time, and he stood up and faced Vanitas.

"Well, nice to see at least one of you's got some decency," Captain Pete complimented.

"Uh, thanks," Vanitas said.

The group left the pier and gathered at the hilltop next to the Cornerstone once again.

"I thought for sure Pete was the bad guy," Sora admitted, putting his hands on the back of his head.

"Aw, that would be too easy," Donald told him.

"You shouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions like that," Vanitas announced. "That's how we get what happened back there."

"C'mon, fellas," Goofy announced. "Let's try to find that steamboat."

"I guess we _did_ say we would..." Sora admitted.

"Hey!" Donald announced. "We've got a door to find!"

"We can multitask," Vanitas announced. "Hell, that's why there's four of us."

"Uh, I don't see any doors," Sora announced, looking to his left. "But what's that?"

They looked to the side to see a floating, glowing wooden window frame, like what you'd watch a sock puppet show in. A curtain was down, and a rope was on the side, most likely for pulling it up.

"I can't see a thing," Sora announced as they stood in front of the frame.

"Yeah, that tends to happen when the curtain's down," Vanitas remarked.

Donald pulled the rope, and they watched as the curtain opened to reveal a white screen. The white changed to show the area they were in now, but with four glowing window frames forming a semi circle around the Cornerstone of Light. In front of each window frame was a Heartless, who then opened the windows and climbed in. The windows closed then disappeared, just as the doorway they entered through started shaking, then burst open, depositing the four of them, before the screen went white again and the curtain fell back down.

"What was that?" Sora asked.

"Heartless, goin' out..." Goofy started.

"...and us, coming in," Donald finished.

"Are we just the champions of arriving after all the big things happen and leaving before the other big things happen?" Vanitas asked.

"What does that mean?" Sora asked.

Donald tried pulling the rope again, but nothing happened, much to his and Goofy's disappointment. Sora and Vanitas then looked around to see that the four glowing, floating windows were once again in the area, making a semi circle around the Cornerstone.

"Let's get rid of those Heartless!" Sora announced.

"Then what'll we do?" Goofy asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Vanitas informed him.

Vanitas took his sling off and opened it up to look at the immediate weapons, but widened his eyes in surprise.

"What the hell!?" he exclaimed.

The assault rifles were gone. All he had were regular rifles and some older looking shotguns. *** _3_ ***

"Okay, something's up with this place," Vanitas announced, sliding his sling back around his back. "But we'll worry about that later."

The group nodded their heads and ran together towards the windows, ready for whatever Heartless they'd end up finding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Literally every time I do that part nowadays, I take out all the Bolt Towers in the room before moving to the throne. It was an easy way to get EXP and Munny
> 
> *2 Since it's older Donald, I decided to add in that little hopping move with the fists out it seems he's known to do
> 
> *3 I looked up some of the rifles and shotguns Vanitas has used so far, and some of them didn't exist during the 1920's, which is sort of where the Timeless River takes place, so I had to adjust his guns a bit. I feel like it makes sense that Merlin's magic would adjust that stuff to help protect the people of past from discovering future stuff. I even looked up the machete and fire axe to make sure they existed during that time for authenticity to make sure they could be used
> 
> I remember, I liked being on this world as a kid because I liked having Dance to the Death during the entire sequence while there. It was one of the slightly creepier themes when I was a kid that was so badass


	10. A Journey Beyond Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang figures out where they are, and whose responsible for the mess at the castle...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured the easy route out with the two Petes was naming the younger Pete Captain Pete, and referring to the Pete we all know and hate from the game as just Pete. Like how canon Vanitas is Dark Vanitas and OC Vanitas is just Vanitas

The first window they went through was the one with the design of a construction site above the window. They went through to find themselves exactly there, on one of the taller parts on a wooden floor added on.

"What are they building?" Sora asked.

"It looks like we're in the middle of a city," Vanitas announced. "They might be building an office building or something."

"Look out!" Goofy yelled.

Sora stepped back and turned around as a Heartless resembling a living hammer landed on the ground, hard part of hammer first. Then, what looked like Mickey flew in on a rope and kicked the Heartless aside before he swung up onto one of the taller levels.

"The King!" Donald announced.

Mickey waved at them, then ran out of sight.

"Gee, he seems kinda different somehow..." Goofy said in thought.

Their attentions were drawn from where Mickey was to the metal parts that were next to it, that had the robes connected to the part they were standing on above it. More Heartless resembling living hammers were on top of it.

"Heartless!" Sora exclaimed. "I knew it!"

The Heartless landed on the wood they were standing on, also hard part of hammer first. They all took out their weapons and stood in their battle stances.

"Now, let's get those Heartless!" Sora announced.

Vanitas slashed with his machete at the hammers while Sora started using combo attacks, Goofy threw his shield, and Donald shot up Thunder. They kept attacking, even while the shaking of the scaffolding on the rope started shaking. Everything was thrown into the air, even as Minute Bombs started appearing, too. Luckily, being up in the air allowed Sora to be able to spin his Keyblade in an attack that damaged the Heartless greatly. He even managed to finish each Minute Bomb that came near him with a single slash, which took out multiple at once.

Vanitas even managed to grab onto the rope high above the scaffolding, which allowed him to be able to kick the Heartless right over the edge as they rose up into the air from the shaking. With Vanitas's kicks and Sora's strong slashes, they managed to take out all the hammers and Minute Bombs. They all regathered back on the floor of the scaffolding, and got out of their battle stances.

"How do you like that!" Sora taunted to the empty air.

Mickey Mouse, who had a gigantic smile and wore pants with two buttons on the front, ran up to Sora. He took Sora's right hand and shook it up and down in gratefulness, much to Sora's surprise. The mouse then waved at them and ran off, out of sight. Goofy looked off to the side, and noticed another floating wooden window frame above the corner of the scaffolding.

"Hey, look!" he announced, pointing at it and getting their attentions.

The four of them walked in front of the frame, and Donald jumped up to pull the rope. The curtain opened up and revealed a white screen. They all watched as Maleficent appeared on the screen, facing away from the screen and looking out of the doorway to the dark castle in Hollow Bastion. They quickly figured out that they were watching from someone's perspective, reminding Vanitas of the House of the Dead games and Resident Evil 7.

"You absolute idiot!" Maleficent scolded. "You've managed to fail at everything!"

She turned to look right in front of her, which was whoever it was's perspective they were watching this through.

"And what's more... you foolishly thought you could take my place while I was away," Maleficent continued. "And that cost me Pierce and HYDRA. All we have left for help are The Accuser and Thanos, and they are more powerful and more destructive than we could be. We already know what could happen with the Mad Titan, and now he's our only outlet for help. Are you aware of how much of a gamble that is!?" *** _1_ ***

Whoever it was she was talking to, the person whose perspective they were watching from, looked away in shame before Maleficent appeared right in front of him.

"Well, as of now, you're finished," Maleficent continued. "Mark my words, there'll be no place for you when our time comes!"

She turned away and walked a few steps towards the door before looking back over her shoulder at whoever it was, and insulted, "Useless imbecile..."

"But-but...but I..." Pete's voice called out as Maleficent walked out of the doorway and out of sight.

The screen went white, and the group regathered back on the Cornerstone hilltop.

"What...?" Sora asked, confused.

"Somebody sure was angry," Goofy commented.

"I don't understand," Donald said.

"What's there to understand?" Vanitas asked. "It looks like she was reprimanding Pete for doing a shitty job while she was gone. Makes sense, the dumb ass got Pierce turned into a Heartless and outed HYDRA to Earth 616."

"Whose Pierce?" Sora asked. "And I thought Captain America said that HYDRA died back in the 40's back on Earth 616."

"I mentioned I was there not too long ago?" Vanitas asked them, and the others nodded their heads. "During it, we discovered that HYDRA had survived within SHIELD, being supported by Maleficent with funds from the Hollow Bastion castle. Pete got in contact with Maleficent's ally there, the leader of Hydra, Alexander Pierce. They prematurely tried to make an army of Heartless out of the people there, but we stopped the plan and Pierce became a Heartless instead as he died. With some help, I managed to destroy the Heartless, and the Avengers know that HYDRA's still around. They're taking care of it, and I went after Pete."

The other three listened in amazement, and were a little surprised to hear about everything that had happened on that world.

"So, Pete made her lose her last ally besides these Accuser and Thanos guys?" Donald asked, and Vanitas nodded. "No wonder she's mad at him. Especially since, from the sounds of it, that Thanos sounds pretty bad."

"Yeah, no kidding," Vanitas said, sure he had heard the title "The Accuser" before. And that Thanos was someone who would come back up in the future, and not in a pleasant way. *** _2_ ***

"Well, let's try to clear out the rest of the Heartless," Sora announced. "The construction site's okay, but we've got three more spots to check."

Their next objective was the room with the design on top of someone being tied down to the ground. The four of them went through and found themselves giant size, standing right in the town. They were large enough that they could probably trample a building with a few kicks or stomps. Needless to say, the group was surprised at the sight.

"The town's shrunk!" Sora exclaimed.

"Or do ya think maybe we got bigger?" Goofy asked.

"Eh, either or," Vanitas said, waving a hand, signaling it didn't entirely matter.

"Hey!" Sora announced with glee as he looked at the large tower taller than them in the center of town with cannons in the windows. "Look at the toy cannons!"

They all gathered around the tower and observed the tower. Sora and Vanitas looked past it to see Mickey behind a building, jumping up and down to get their attentions.

"What's he saying?" Sora asked.

He and Vanitas looked over their shoulders to see Heartless looking like people in biplanes flying around in front of the dam.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed. "There're Heartless!"

They stood in their battle stances, Vanitas with his fire axe, and Sora immediately charged in and started using combo attacks against one plane. Vanitas swung his axe at the other plane, while Donald continuously shot up Thunder again. Vanitas knocked his plane to the ground with his axe, then he swung it hard into the plane, destroying it. Sora kept up his combo attacks, taking out the other plane, while Goofy threw his shield at the last plane. He and Vanitas took out the last plane with their weapons as Sora jumped up onto the tower.

Just in time, as more Heartless, consisting of Hammers, appeared. The blasts from the tower cannons stunned the Heartless and kept them in place as the group kept up their attacks. This was perfect, because it came in handy for them to finish off the next to waves of Planes pretty easily.

"Man, that was weird!" Sora panted as he stood in an empty part of the town without his Keyblade.

Mickey ran up to Sora and once again took the brunette's hand to shake up and down, to his surprise again. Once again, the mouse waved goodbye and ran out of sight. Goofy looked towards the dam to find another floating, wooden window frame.

"Look, guys!" he announced, pointing at it. "Over there!"

They gathered around the wooden window frame, and Donald pulled the rope, opening the curtain and revealing the white screen. Once again, they were watching things from Pete's perspective as he looked out the doorway to the balcony for the castle.

"Aw, for cryin' out loud..." Pete said. "She didn't have to go and say that. Okay, I mighta messed up every now and then, and that might have cost us Pierce. But I'm a lot more things than useless..."

He looked down, then up in thought.

"Why, when I was startin' out..." Pete looked down in sadness. "Oh... I miss those good ol' days... What I wouldn't give to go back in time..." He sniffled in sadness. "What I wouldn't give..."

Light flared behind him, getting his attention as it reflected off the wall in front of him. Pete turned around in confusion to see a doorway similar to the one the four of them arrived in Timeless River in. Still watching from Pete's perspective, the group watched as Pete walked around the meeting table in the center towards the door and reach for the door handles. He pulled open the doors, and everything went white again.

"Hey..." Pete's voice announced through the white. "I think that's my..."

The curtain then closed, and they went back to the hilltop with the Cornerstone.

"A door?" Sora asked.

"It looked pretty similar to the one we arrived in," Vanitas informed them. "That's probably the one Merlin was talking about."

"So it should come straight here, right?" Sora asked, and Vanitas pointed at him with one hand while tapping his nose with the other, signaling he got it right.

"Now we just gotta find it!" Goofy announced.

"Let's keep looking!" Donald announced.

The next window they went through was the one with the design of a building on fire at the top. They found themselves, predictably, in front of a tall apartment building that was on fire, shaking from side to side.

"Fire!" Sora announced. They saw Mickey next to the building trying to move forwards, but stopping at the sight of two balls of flame in front of him. "C'mon, he needs our help!"

"Majesty!" Donald called out before Mickey ran off.

Smaller balls of fire were hopping away from the bigger balls of fire and towards the building. Shadows then appeared in front of them, and they got in their battle stances, with Vanitas pulling out a Winchester rifle.

They went to work and took out the Shadows pretty quickly, while also fighting the fire before it could hop into the building. After the Shadows were destroyed, a few more appeared with a Hot Rod Heartless. Vanitas fired his rifle into the front lights before Sora finished it off with combo attacks. Of course, after the car went into rage mode and knocked out Donald. Two more Hot Rods appeared, and they had to fight them off while also taking on the fire that tried hopping into the building. It took a few more combo attacks from Sora, shield swings and throws from Goofy, and rifle fires from Vanitas, but they managed to take out all the enemies.

After a few seconds, the building stopped shaking, and the fire faded completely. Sora stood up out of his battle stance, and once again, Mickey took his hand and shook it up and down, to his surprise. He then waved goodbye and ran off out of sight.

"Well, that takes care of that!" Sora remarked as Goofy looked behind them.

"Hey!" Goofy announced, pointing at the wooden window frame floating in the air.

Once again, they gathered around the window frame and Donald jumped up to pull the rope. The white screen changed so they were watching from Pete's perspective again, looking at Maleficent as she looked into the open doors that Pete had found.

"Fascinating..." Maleficent said in thought. "This appears to be a portal to the past!"

"Yeah, it was the strangest thing!" Pete agreed with a nod of the head.

"Stop gawking!" Maleficent ordered as she looked at Pete. "And start thinking of a way we can use it to our advantage!"

"Okay," Pete agreed.

"Now, perhaps I could give you one more chance to redeem yourself," Maleficent admitted.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Pete exclaimed, holding his hands out in front of himself. "You can count on me! ...So, what do I do?"

"Patience, my dear," Maleficent informed him as she looked into the doors again. "What have we here? Well, if it isn't the Cornerstone of Light... Mmm... now we can take the castle from those fools, but we'll have to proceed with the utmost of care..."

The screen went back to white, and the group gathered back in front of the Cornerstone.

"So Maleficent took advantage of the door!" Donald assessed.

"Let's see..." Goofy said in thought. "If that door's connected to the past..."

"No, no, no!" Donald corrected him. "It comes here."

"Exactly," Vanitas pointed out. "Think about it, guys: Pete back before he became evil, everything's in black and white, we all look like how we did when we were younger, and look at that sign!" He walked over to a castle shaped sign outside a fence and read, "'The future location of Disney Castle'. Guys..."

"We're in the past!" Goofy finished.

"Wow," Sora said, amazed. He and Donald faced each other. "If we're in the past..."

"...we can change the future!" Donald finished, slight excitement in his voice.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, _whoa_ ," Vanitas announced, raising his hands up to stop their trains of thought. "Guys, remember what Merlin said?"

"He's got faith in us," Goofy continued for him. "And we have to resist temptation no matter what!"

"Aw, I was only joking," Donald told them as he and Sora looked at them.

"Who would want to change the future, anyway?" Sora asked, placing his hands on the back of his head again.

"How are we the voices of reason in this group?" Vanitas muttered to Goofy.

"So... what are we gonna do now?" Sora asked.

"Doors, bad guys..." Goofy reminded them. "Gawrsh, my brain hurts!"

"Well, we know we're on the right track!" Donald announced.

They walked towards the last window set, which had the design of a house with Mickey's crest on it. They entered through the window, and found themselves in a living room with what looked like a vortex floating above the center of the floor. Pieces of furniture were picked up and started levitating towards the vortex, and Mickey ran towards it, circling it cautiously.

"C'mon, he needs our help!" Sora announced.

Heartless appeared, and Mickey ran off, so the quartet faced them with their weapons. Vanitas fired his Colt M1911 handgun at the flying ones that were shaped like bird beaks, while Donald shot up Thunder and Goofy threw his shield. All while Sora used combo attacks to attack both the Heartless and the vortex, making it stop sucking up furniture. After those Heartless, they had to take out some Shadows, then even more ones shaped like bird beaks before they were all destroyed, and the vortex disappeared.

Once again, Mickey grabbed Sora's hand and shook it up and down while he looked surprised, before the mouse waved goodbye, and ran off out of sight. Sora breathed out in exhaustion before Goofy pointed out the wooden window frame in front of the fireplace. As per usual, they gathered around it as Donald jumped up and pulled the string, pulling up the curtain. They watched as the white screen once again became Pete's perspective as he and Maleficent were in discussion.

"Listen well," Maleficent instructed, and he nodded his head. "On the other side of this portal, they're about to begin construction on that wretched castle." Pete looked up at the door in thought. "But until then, their treasured Cornerstone of Light lies unguarded, with all its power still contained!"

"The Cornerstone... of Light?" Pete asked, still looking at the door.

"Yes," Maleficent confirmed. "That cursed sphere is the very thing that prevents us from entering the castle."

"Oh," Pete said as he looked from the door back to Maleficent.

"You know what must be done?" Maleficent asked.

"Uh..." Pete said, not understanding completely.

"Go, then," Maleficent instructed. "Time to prove your worth! And don't dare to fail me again!"

Maleficent turned and started walking away, and as if a camera was pulling back, they finally saw Pete, the Pete they knew as an enemy, come into view.

"Don't fail her again... let's see..." Pete muttered to himself. His ears perked up as he got an idea. "That's it! I just gotta smash that Cornerstone to smithereens!"

He laughed wickedly before he made his way to the door.

"But first," Pete continued as he reached for the door handles. "I gotta go get my old boat back."

The screen went back to white, and the four world travelers gathered back on the hill in front of the windows.

"It was Pete after all!" Sora announced.

"Our version," Vanitas announced as blood poured out his nose. "It hurts like a bitch, but I sense that unlike Donnie and Goof, both our Pete and his past form are here. The Pete we met, Captain Pete, got his boat stolen by his future self, who planned to use it in his 'steal the Cornerstone' plan."

"That's a little odd," Goofy said.

"Yeah, how can past Pete and our Pete be here at the same time, but the past versions of them not be here?" Sora asked, arms crossed.

"Eh, wibbly wobbly, timey wimey," Vanitas said with a wave of the hand.

"Look!" Donald exclaimed, gesturing over to the road labelled "Waterway."

They looked over there to see Pete, their Pete, turn to see them. He narrowed his eyes to see them across the hilltop, then burst out laughing.

"Now that castle's as good as ours!" Pete announced.

"That's the Pete we know!" Sora announced as Pete started running down the road.

"Bad, bad, bad!" Donald exclaimed.

"Oh, no!" Goofy exclaimed.

They looked at the dog to see that he was covering his eyes and pointing at where the Cornerstone of Light was. Instead, the bricks it was resting on were now bare, because the Cornerstone was gone.

"The Cornerstone's gone!" Sora exclaimed as they ran up to the empty area.

"But that means..." Donald said in thought.

"Heartless are gonna be filling up every room of the castle," Vanitas assessed with dread in his voice.

"We gotta hurry!" Goofy announced with urgency in his voice.

Captain Pete then appeared out of nowhere and tiredly ran past them towards the Waterway.

"Hey, hold it right there!" Sora called out.

"Two Petes," Vanitas reminded Sora as the boat captain stopped in front of the road to the Waterway.

Sora had slight embarrassment on his face as he remembered that little detail.

"No way, small fry!" Captain Pete informed the group. "I finally found the pipsqueak what stole my steamboat!"

"Yeah!" Donald agreed. "It was you!"

'Right, me!" Captain Pete agreed, pointing at himself with his eyes closed and a smile on his face. He opened them with embarrassment as he realized what he said. "No! No! It wasn't me! It's just somebody who looks like me!"

The cat then turned towards the road to the Waterway and continued his tired run down the way, leaving the group alone.

"How the hell does the Doctor deal with this shit every time he's in the same room as the other forms of him?" Vanitas asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

They ran down the road towards the Waterway, and found themselves on a long path of grass next to a river. Captain Pete's steamboat was next to the shore with the Cornerstone of light in a wooden cage on a log raft connected to the back of the boat. The two Petes were squaring off next to the boat.

"Waaaait!" Captain Pete begged the man who stole his boat.

"Shuddup!" Pete snapped at his younger self. During his next few words, he pushed the captain back twice. "Your future's on the line, pallie, so back off and give me the boat!"

At that, Pete uppercutted Captain Pete so hard he flew high in the air, over the nearby small hills and out of sight.

"The Cornerstone!" Donald called out as Pete jumped up on top of his wooden cage.

"Let's get this prick!" Vanitas exclaimed as he pulled out his machete.

Steam flew out of the boat's tops as it then started rowing on its own down onto the other side of the river and towards the open gate out of the river.

Luckily for them, even though Pete was far out in the distance, he still liked to cause trouble which ended up causing him peril. He got objects and started throwing them at the quartet to try to hurt them, but they ended up being knocked against his head instead. With Sora using his Keyblade and Vanitas gritting his teeth (and bearing a nosebleed), they knocked back oil drums, boxes, and even pie tins back against Pete, which knocked him out, and made the boat move itself back against the shore they were next to.

Their next objective was to destroy the wooden cage, which was what Vanitas had his machete out for. Sora jumped up onto the boat's hook and attacked it with swings from his Keyblade while Donald shot Thunder and Goofy through his shield, all in an attempt to destroy the wooden cage. Luckily, since Vanitas's machete was originally designed for cutting wood, they managed to take out the bars on the sides, despite Heartless appearing and trying to stop them. The bars were destroyed, and the top and Pete fell into the river.

"Yes!" Sora exclaimed in triumph.

Pete popped his head out of the water and announced, "You'll pay for this!" before the logs hit him in the head and sent him under again.

The boat came to a stop in front of them, and the four of them kept an eye out for when Pete popped back out.

"It's the Cornerstone!" Donald exclaimed in relief as Pete climbed out of the water just a few feet down.

"Hey!" Vanitas exclaimed, pointing at the cat.

Pete spared one more look at the Cornerstone before deciding to give up and start running down the road labelled "Wharf." Sora, Vanitas, and Goofy started running towards it before looking back to see Donald still staring at the Cornerstone, greed in his eyes.

"Donald, we'll come back for it later!" Sora announced.

"Pete's headin' for the doorway!" Goofy elaborated as the mallard turned towards them.

"ándale!" Vanitas exclaimed, gesturing to the road with his head.

Donald spared one more look at the Cornerstone before turning from it and running with the others down the road to the Wharf. They reached the area and once again found Pete having a standoff with Captain Pete.

Pete punched his younger self in the face, knocking the captain right on his back between the quartet, with Goofy covering his mouth in surprise.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Captain Pete whined, sitting up and covering his hurt face, and for once, making Vanitas feel bad for the cat. He seemed like a nice guy that didn't deserve any of this before he went evil.

"I hope you remembered feeling that pain, you son of a bitch!" Vanitas exclaimed as the four of them ran up towards Pete.

"Ha!" Pete laughed. "You're still wet behind the ears!"

The four of them stood in front of Pete in their battle stances, with Vanitas carrying his baseball bat.

"Then try us!" Sora announced.

Captain Pete pushed them out of the way and stood in front of his older self with his fists raised, rolling them as he prepared for a fight. The quartet ran back up and stood next to him in their battle stances.

"Not the weirdest fighting companion we've had," Vanitas admitted.

Captain Pete ran up to punch Pete, but every time he did, he just winced and grabbed his hand in pain. Sora and Vanitas managed to back Pete into a corner and attack them with their weapons as Donald repeatedly shot up Thunder and Goofy threw his shield at Pete. Captain Pete finally managed to do something that hurt someone other than himself when Pete's shockwave on the ground knocked him up in the air and he landed hard with a shockwave of his own that caused some damage to Pete. ***3***

After a few seconds of their attacks, Pete pushed them all back and raised his fists up.

"How's about a change?" Pete asked as he ran off to the side.

Vanitas had no idea how this happened, but a curtain came down with Pete's face on it, and when it pulled away, the burning building and the living fires that caused it were in the Wharf with them.

Sora kept up his combo attacks against Pete, and when Captain Pete started running around scared, Sora directed him so he ran right into Pete, knocking him back a bit. Goofy started charging with his shield while Captain Pete charged head and hat first into Pete, which both did something before Pete could finish punching them away from him. Vanitas then got one of the living fires and knocked it with his bat, figuring that it counted as a home run when it hit Pete right in the face. Pete then pushed them all back and raised his fists up again.

"How's about a change?" Pete asked again as he ran off to the side.

The curtain came down again, and when it went back up, the Wharf was now covered around them by three walls and the vortex that tried to eat the furniture.

Pete used the vortex to allow himself to spin around like he was a ballerina, as Captain Pete was picked up by the force pulling him. He ended up curled into a rolling ball, which Sora once again sent into Pete, causing some damage again. They kept up their attacks as Pete kept trying to do the rolling exploding ball trick, which was blocked by Sora and sent back into him. Goofy even slid around on his shield like it was a sleigh and Donald whacked the enemy cat with his staff, and Captain Pete rammed his hat into him some more. They attacked Pete a few more times before he pushed them off once again and raised his fists up again.

"How's about a change?" Pete asked again as he ran off to the side.

The curtain came down again, and when it went back up, they were in a large, grassy field with three towers taller than them with cannons.

Pete tried leaping over them, but Sora jumped up and used aerial combos, Vanitas jabbed him with his bat, and Donald shot up Thunder which knocked the cat around before he landed. Captain Pete charged in with his hat again before Pete pushed them aside with his punches and slammed into the ground, causing another shockwave. The cannons from the nearest tower then made things complicated as it fired at both Pete and the group attacking him. Captain Pete even considered attacking them for a second before deciding to just stick with Pete. Despite the cannons firing at them, they managed to cause a few more attacks to Pete, who knocked out Donald before pushing them off once more and raising his fists up again.

"How's about a change?" Pete asked again as he ran off to the side.

For one last time, the curtain came down, and when it went back up, they were on a piece of scaffolding held by rope high in the air. Pete slammed his fists into the ground causing a shockwave, which apparently meant he didn't know that was a bad idea. Everyone who was still awake (Pete, Captain Pete, Sora, Vanitas, and Goofy) was thrown into the air, with both Petes spinning around pretty wildly. Sora managed to use the spinning Keyblade attack twice before Vanitas got in close and kicked Pete right in the face, ending the fight. Light flared, signaling the landscape was returning to normal as Sora learned Reflect magic.

When the light faded, they were back in the Wharf, and Pete was knocked onto his back.

"It serves ya right!" Captain Pete taunted, as if he hadn't spent the entire fight either hurting himself and the team more than Pete or running around scared.

Pete winced a lot as he stood up before he frowned and turned away from the group. He ran a few paces, then gestured with his arms. The door that brought him there appeared and landed in front of him.

"The door!" Donald announced.

"Yeah... And stay out!" Captain Pete called out as Pete went through the doors and closed them behind him.

"Sora!" Donald called out.

"Yeah, I know!" Sora informed him as he ran up to the door with his Keyblade.

He pointed his Keyblade at the door, and circular light appeared at the tip. In response, a keyhole appeared in the middle of the doors. A beam shot out of the Keyblade and turned the keyhole white, which gave a sound of something locking. The frame for the doors then glowed brightly with light before disappearing entirely.

The four heroes gathered where the door was, with Captain Pete walking towards them.

"Would somebody tell me what's been goin' on here?" the cat insisted with slight irritation in his voice. "Who was that creep, anyways?"

"Hello?" Sora asked, annoyed that the Captain wasn't getting it. "That creep was..."

Goofy and Vanitas quickly covered his mouth before he could reveal too much.

"Uh, you ever hear of evil doppelgängers?" Vanitas bullshitted the Captain. "Well, that's sort of what happened here. But he's gone now, and won't be messing with you anymore."

"I knew it had to be somethin' like that!" Captain Pete exclaimed. He then cocked his head to the side as he looked at Vanitas and Sora. "So... which one of you two is the evil one?"

"Neither of us," Sora announced at the same time Vanitas admitted, "Me."

Sora looked at Vanitas with slight surprise as Vanitas leaned in to whisper, "Nine year homicidal rampage, remember?" *** _4_ ***

"Really? After how we met, I thought it'd be the other way around," Captain Pete admitted, making Vanitas laugh and Sora look embarrassed. "Well, anyway, sorry I put you guys through all that trouble."

"Yeah, well, just don't make a habit of it!" Donald told him.

 _Subtle_ , Vanitas thought as Sora and Goofy laughed, which the duck heard in his head.

"And to show you my appreciation, I'll let you pilot my steamboat," Captain Pete told them. "Best little craft on the river! My deck hand Mickey's late anyways."

Pretty soon, they were steering the steamboat across the water, with the Cornerstone still on the little log raft attached to the back. The four of them excitedly did stuff around the boat, with Sora turning the wheel, and Donald jumping up to pull the cord to make the whistles blow. Along the way, Vanitas could sense Mickey just laying back and relaxing on the back part of the raft, like he didn't have a care in the world.

 _Pete mentioned to me that that was far from his first time being late_ , Vanitas thought. _How did he ever get to become a King of his own castle?_

He brushed those thoughts aside as they brought the Cornerstone of Light back in its place on top of the hill, on its waiting place on the bricks. Sora sighed out and brushed the sweat off his face as they looked up at it.

"I'll betcha the castle's safe now," Goofy told them.

"Guess we should head back," Sora announced.

"Great," Vanitas said. "It's been nice having a trip down memory lane, but it also feels pretty weird to see these guys have the same eternal face."

"Wait!" Donald announced. "As long as we're here..."

"Donald!" Sora, Vanitas, and Goofy all reprimanded him.

Sora and Goofy grabbed the duck by each arm (wing?) and dragged him towards the door, all while he protested being dragged. Vanitas opened the doors and moved out of the way as they pulled back twice. They then threw Donald right into the light, making the door shake a bit as he went back to Disney Castle. They walked inside after the duck and shut the doors behind them, walking through the light.

* * *

Back in the present in the Hall of the Cornerstone, the room suddenly became brighter, as if someone had turned on the lights. After a few seconds, the thorned vines suddenly glowed bright with light before disappearing entirely. Chip and Dale jumped up and down in excitement at that.

"The thorns have disappeared!" Minnie excitedly announced.

"By george!" Merlin exclaimed with equal announcement. "The lads have accomplished their mission."

"Hooray!" Chip cheered.

"Let's have an acorn fest to celebrate!" Dale yelled.

The doors to the past suddenly shook a bit before they burst open and Donald went flying out, yelling all the way. He stood up and grumbled as he hopped up and down on one foot with his fists raised, one of them spinning a bit, before he sighed out and stopped as the other three followed him. They were all back in their clothes from earlier, which made Vanitas miss his old outfit a bit.

"Welcome back!" Minnie announced. "Because of your bravery, the castle is safe and protected again. Thank you so much for all you've done!"

"Good work, you guys!" Chip and Dale simultaneously praised them.

"Now boys, I hope you didn't do anything reckless while you were there?" Merlin told them.

"Of course not!" Donald told him, causing the other three to start laughing, and he looked up at them, a little mad.

Vanitas smirked and looked down, and Sora looked at his doppelgänger.

"Just because that stuff happened, doesn't mean you're like that anymore," Sora told Vanitas, who said nothing in response. "It's been a long time since that happened, and you've changed a lot."

"I know," Vanitas admitted, still looking down. "But I still remember what my mindset was during all those nine years. The things I wanted to do to Xehanort in revenge... Jeez, I still have nightmares about that."

"But that's gone," Sora reassured him once again. "You're not like that guy anymore, so you need to try to let that part of you go."

Vanitas gritted his teeth and nodded while looking down, and Donald's attention was drawn towards the door out, where a female duck in a purple dress was slowly walking in.

"Daisy!" Donald exclaimed. Daisy started walking into the room, and Donald ran up to meet her. "Daisy, I'm back!"

"Who?" Sora asked.

"Daisy is Donald's very special sweetheart," Goofy explained.

"Wife?" Vanitas asked.

"No," Goofy admitted with a shake of the head.

"Girlfriend, but they're not ready for that commitment yet?" Vanitas asked.

"Yep," Goofy said with a nod of the head.

"How long have they not been ready?" Sora asked.

"About 40 years," Goofy admitted.

"Oh, boy," Vanitas laughed. "And I thought I was inexperienced with serious relationships."

Donald and Daisy were now facing each other, and the former was reaching for her hand. But then Daisy suddenly leaned forwards with her fists on her hips, surprising Donald greatly.

"Donald, you forgot about our date again!" she snapped. "You better have a good excuse this time!"

"But Daisy...I..." Donald got out with some fear.

"I know it's an important mission, but you could at least check in every once in a while," Daisy snapped at him.

Donald looked over his shoulder at them, but Sora looked away with his hands on the back of his head.

"Don't look at us, dude," Vanitas said, also looking away.

"Guys!" Donald exclaimed.

He then looked up at the doors to the past, and chuckled wickedly with his eyes narrowed deviously at it.

"Donald!" Merlin reprimanded.

"Just be a minute..." Donald announced as he started running to the doors.

"Going somewhere?" Daisy asked, grabbing the man by his tail feathers and stopping him in his place.

"Of course not!" Donald denied as he yanked his tail feathers free and started running towards the back wall.

"Donald!" Daisy yelled.

She got up and started chasing Donald around the room, much to the amusement of the others.

"Oh, look," Minnie said, looking at the Keyblade that suddenly appeared in Sora's hand.

Donald and Daisy stopped arguing for a second to look over as light glowed at the end of the Keyblade. Light then glowed from the Cornerstone, and they figured out what it meant.

Light then gathered in a large, see through sphere at the end of the Keyblade, and then the design of a crown appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. Light then shot out of the Cornerstone and up into the air, which formed a Keyhole. Sora jumped back, swung his Keyblade around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

Sora then walked over to Daisy and leaned down to whisper a bit to try to lesson Donald's embarrassment.

"Daisy, we need Donald for just a little longer," he told her.

"How much longer?" Daisy asked as Sora straightened back up, ending the whispering pretense.

"Um, well..." Sora said in thought.

"I'll be back soon, Daisy," Donald assured her.

Daisy smiled at him as the other three walked over to the other group.

"Don't you worry, Queen Minnie," Goofy assured her. "We'll return."

"Please tell the King that we're still looking for him!" Sora told her.

"It would kind of make things a little easier," Vanitas said, breathing in and out as exhaustion came over him briefly.

"I will!" Minnie assured them.

"See you soon!" Chip and Dale simultaneously told them.

"Think wisely!" Merlin told them.

"Always do," Vanitas said, trying to catch his breath.

They made their way to the hanger with the ship, with Sora having learned another Drive Form called Wisdom. They prepared themselves for the next part of their journey, wherever that took them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Yeah, Maleficent is also allies with Ronan and Thanos, which we'll be seeing in the next MCU story. And since Loki knew that being partnered up with Thanos would be a dangerous gamble, I like to imagine that Maleficent would be the same way.
> 
> *2 You've got _no_ idea, V
> 
> *3 I'm not exaggerating to make Captain Pete sound like a wuss, that actually happened in the Timeline episode I used for reference. And they didn't use any of the crazy enhancements for this episode with him, so I guess that really happened in game
> 
> *4 Even if it's been a while since that, and Vanitas has changed a lot since then, I feel it'd be natural that he still saw himself in a slightly harsher light after that whole ordeal
> 
> Yeah, the one chapter a world thing's going out the window with how long the portions of the Timeline can be. Like I said, I don't feel ready to conquer 40+ minutes in a single chapter yet. It'll probably easier for III since the only thing Everglow has for it is a playthrough, so it's not on the Timeline yet. The return trips might be single chapters since they aren't really that long, though


	11. Cursed Medallions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang travels to a world where they discover pirates. Vanitas couldn't help but notice that two of them looked like Legolas and the 21 Jump Street kid, though...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, be ready for more than a couple of meta references in this one. After all, Vanitas does have a history with confusing people in these things with their real life actors from movies he saw as a kid

When the ship landed, the quartet found themselves on a large, brick building with a bell next to them. It was nighttime, so there were lit torches lighting their way as they walked along the brick floor, and they saw that there were cannons along the walls. Curious, they ran up to where the bell was and looked out at the area in front of them.

"This place is..." Sora started to say.

"Kinda different," Goofy said.

Below them was a giant hill that fell far down towards the water in front of them. The water spread out for as far as they could see in the night sky, clarifying that they were somewhere pretty far off the ocean.

The four of them walked away from the bell and down some steps, but then their attentions were drawn to the sound of people screaming. They ran to the side and looked over the ledge towards the town in the distance.

"Something's up," Sora assessed.

"Organization XIII?" Goofy asked.

"Or the Heartless!" Donald asked.

"Or this world might just have its own problems," Vanitas pointed out. "Just because those are our current enemies doesn't mean they're responsible for every bad thing ever."

"Whatever the case," Sora said as they looked back out at the town. "Only one way to find out."

They ran down the staircase next to them and through various parts until they came out into a large, square shaped area next to a ship dock, where Pete was talking with a bunch of pirates. They all ran out with their weapons, with Vanitas carrying his spear.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, seeing the cat already back to his usual antics.

"See there?" Pete asked. "I knew it! Those are the punks I was tellin' ya about."

"Who are you calling punks?" Sora asked as they stood in their battle stances. "That's Sora, Vanitas, Donald, and Goofy to you! And don't you forget it!"

"You are very offended by what a dumb ass called us," Vanitas remarked.

"That we won't," the pirate captain, Barbossa, told Sora. "And we'll engrave it on your tombstone, to be sure."

"Whoa!" Pete exclaimed, surprised. "I like your style."

"That's the lamest death threat I have ever heard," Vanitas muttered.

"Men," Barbossa announced, looking over the subordinate pirates he had with him. "Half of you stay here and indulge these cullies. The rest: bring me that medallion!"

"Aye!" the pirates announced.

Four pirates, three men dressed in what looked like raincoats carrying rifles that looked like crossbows, and a dirtier man with some stereotypical round bombs with fuses in his hands.

"Aw, we only get to stump on a few of you?" Sora taunted.

Barbossa smiled at Sora's words before slipping out of sight seconds later.

The men charged at them, and they both blocked attacks and delivered some of their own. When the raincoat dressed men fired their guns, Sora blocked the rounds back at them, but that didn't seem to have an effect on them. Vanitas would swing his spear as Goofy swung with his shield, but their weapons didn't even faze the men, not even when Vanitas jabbed with the dangerous part of his weapon. Donald even tried to use Thunder and Blizzard, to no effect. Like everything else, including Sora's combo attacks and his own magic, the attacks just harmlessly bounced off the pirates.

Eventually, the four of them backed up from the pirates and stood in their battle stances as they faced them.

"It's no use!" Sora exclaimed. "We can't beat them!"

"Aye, whaddya expect?" one of the pirates taunted.

"Is it me, or does taunting only ever end up being our hubris?" Vanitas asked his allies.

In the air, the clouds then parted, and when the moonlight fell onto the pirates, the quartet watched in shock as the men suddenly became skeletons held together with... well, they didn't wanna know.

"You best be sayin' your prayers!" one of the pirates taunted again.

"Hey, watch out!" Pete warned them. "They can see ya! Stay away from their magic!"

"What for?" one of the pirates asked.

"Weren't you listenin' to me before?" Pete asked.

"Hey, Pete, thanks for the tip!" Sora announced.

"Good going, dumb ass!" Vanitas remarked.

Vanitas snapped his fingers, and one of the skeletons in raincoats was then covered in fire. He started running around in pain as the fire burned him, while Donald shot up Thunder to stun the guy with bombs and another raincoat man. Sora blocked another man's rifle blast and joined in attacking with his usual combo attacks. Goofy's shield throws were finally causing some damage against the pirates. Pretty soon, they had defeated the pirates, who blew up into shards of bones and pieces of their clothes. That made no sense at all, but then again, when did anything in their lives make sense?

They then got back in their battle stances and faced Pete in front of the dock.

"Hey!" Pete exclaimed. "This ain't over!"

The cat turned towards the dock and started running down it, out of sight, so they stood straight back up.

"If Pete's here, that must mean we have work to do," Sora announced.

"Yep," Goofy agreed. "And that pirate captain looked pretty mean, too."

"Man, I'd hate to seen him turn into a Heartless," Sora said.

"Yeah, imagine how that fight'd go," Vanitas agreed.

"Well, we _are_ here..." Donald said in thought.

"Hey, maybe we can take a pirate ship out for a spin!" Sora eagerly announced as he turned towards his friends, surprising Donald and Goofy. He then put his hands on the back of his head. "Just kidding! Say, weren't those guys headed into town?"

"Yeah," Goofy confirmed. "I think they were looking for treasure."

"Dude with the hat said they were looking for a medallion," Vanitas remembered. "So they've got a specific thing they're looking for."

They all looked to the side to see a small stone bridge that was connected to the road into town. They ran down it and found themselves going through various parts of town until they heard the sound of a woman screaming.

"Where are you taking me!?" the woman's voice yelled. "Let me go!"

"Elizabeth!" a man's voice soon followed. "Stop!"

They followed the voices until they found a man backed into a corner with Heartless getting closer to him.

"Orlando Bloom?" Vanitas muttered to himself with his eyebrows furrowed as he saw the man in the corner.

"What are they?" he asked.

"It's the Heartless!" Donald announced. "Watch out!"

The four of them ran between the man and the Heartless with their weapons ready.

"We'll handle them!" Sora told the man. "Go! Take cover!"

The man nodded his head, then ran off to the side.

Since the first wave was just Shadows, it was easy to take them out with their combo attacks, blasts of Thunder and Blizzard, shield throws, and jabs from the spear. Once they finished off enough Shadows, Heartless that were like living cannons appeared, and Sora got to use Reflect when one of the cannon blasts came down from above. The shields around him absorbed the attack then sent out small explosions, giving Vanitas sad flashbacks to Roxas again. The cannons and the following Soldiers still weren't anything that bad, so they managed to finish off all the Heartless in just a little while.

With the Heartless destroyed, they all put away their weapons and turned back to see the man running up to them.

"Well done!" he complimented. "My own fencing skills are not to be ashamed of, but I've never faced foes such as that before."

"You really think we're that good?" Sora asked, hands on the back of his head.

"Watch the ego, Sky," Vanitas told Sora. *** _1_ ***

"Did you find your friend?" Goofy asked as Sora lowered his hands.

"I was too late," the man admitted. "But I must rescue her! Would you help me?"

"Of course!" Sora assured him. "I'm Sora." He looked at each of his friends as he introduced them. "This is Vanitas, or V, Donald, and Goofy."

"And I'm William Turner, but call me Will," Will told them.

Oh, _we're in that movie_ , Vanitas thought, remembering the various movies that were technically Disney that he had seen with the group back on Earth 616.

"Okay, Will," Sora said. "Let's go!"

"Right," Will agreed. "We've got to get to the docks!"

They ran back through the city and to the small area the group had fought those pirates in. They ran down the docks and stopped at the end when they saw a large, black pirate ship already sailing away from them.

"We're too late!" Will announced, upset.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Those pirates kidnapped Miss Swann and took her to their ship," Will explained. "Now they've sailed, and I'll never be able to find her!"

"Then she's long gone," a voice aboard the nearest ship got their attention. They looked up to see a pirate on top of a ramp that was connected to the ship. "The Black Pearl is nigh uncatchable. Best find yourself another girl, mate."

The man jumped onto the ship, and the group started walking towards it.

"You," Will said. "What are you doing aboard the Interceptor? She's off limits to civilians."

"Ah, fortunate that I'm going to commandeer her, then," the man said. "She'll make a fine pirate ship."

"A pirate?" Sora said in excitement.

The man popped his head up as they reached the bottom of the ramp, and Vanitas was sure he looked like Johnny Depp, confirming which Disney movie this was.

"Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please," the Captain told them.

Will thought for a second before requesting, "Take me with you. Help me hunt down the Black Pearl and save Miss Swann. I got you out of this jail cell, Sparrow. Do this and your debt's repaid."

"You'll have to win fair lady's heart alone, mate," Jack told him. "I se no profit in it for me."

"C'mon, Captain!" Sora insisted.

"Are you sure you can sail her, all on your own?" Will asked.

"I've met like, a bunch of people who could handle a ship on his own," Vanitas announced. "That something you could do?"

The Captain put his hand to his chin in thought before standing up on top of the ramp and looking down at them.

"You've a point there," he admitted.

Sora eagerly pumped his fist, and they started walking up the ramp with Will towards Jack.

"Thanks, Sparrow," Will told him.

" _Captain_ Sparrow," Jack corrected him.

"I'm Sora," Sora introduced himself. "This is Vanitas, Donald, and Goofy."

"How ya doing, you crazy drunk?" Vanitas asked as they all piled onto the ship.

"I'm Will Turner," Will introduced himself.

"That would be short for William, I imagine," Jack said. "No doubt named for your father, eh?"

"Yes," Will confirmed.

"Well, then, Mr. Turner," Jack said. "You get us ready to make way. I have some effects to liberate."

"Aye aye!" Will agreed as Jack walked back down the ramp. "But hurry."

"Naturally," Jack said, waving away as Will went further into the ship.

"Sora..." Donald said as the quartet went back down the ramp.

"You really wanna be a pirate?" Goofy asked.

"Of course not!" Sora assured them.

"Just one of those things from when you were a kid that you always wanted to fulfill?" Vanitas asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Sora admitted as they reached the bottom of the ramp and found Jack.

"What do you make of this Will?" the Captain asked them.

"I don't know," Sora admitted. "We just met him."

"And you know what they say about first impressions, right?" Vanitas asked.

Jack nodded his head in agreement and looked up at the ship in front of him.

"Hmm... I think my luck's about to change," he hummed to himself.

They got in the ship and set sail along the waters. Along the way, Vanitas had a vision of that Barbossa dude with a woman that looked like Kiera Knightley, who he knew must be Elizabeth. They were sitting at a dinner table, and the pirate captain explained to her that the medallion was one of 882 of Aztec golden medallions that had a curse on them. Barbossa and his crew found the chest and the medallions and sold them, and subsequently got this curse on them, so they couldn't eat, drink, or have good company. The only way to reverse the curse was to return the gold to the chest covered in the blood of the people that carried it, which is why they didn't kill her... yet.

"Jeez, this really is like that movie," Vanitas muttered to himself as the ship kept sailing along the water.

Everyone was gathered around the steering wheel for the ship, with Jack behind the wheel staring intently at the compass in his hand.

"Why are you so fixated on that compass?" Will asked him.

"It'll be she that leads us to Isla de Muerta, where Barbossa's headed," Jack told them. "Savvy?"

"How do you know?" Sora asked.

"Ah, lad," Jack said as he put away the compass. "He and I once had our eyes on a treasure... Aztec gold. 'Twas hidden on the Isla de Muerta. But he turned traitor and stole my ship."

"So, he's after that treasure, then," Will assessed.

"Treasure's already his," Jack informed them. "So's the curse upon it."

"Let me guess," Vanitas said, as if he didn't just have a vision explaining it just moments ago. "There was some big bad curse on the gold, and stealing and selling it made them into the skeletons?"

"Exactly," Jack said, pointing at him. "I've no such desire for such treacherous spoils. But I will have back what's mine: The Black Pearl."

Jack turned back towards the wheel and continued steering them.

"Probably should have seen that coming when they went to Death Island," Vanitas muttered to his off-worlder friends. *** _2_ ***

After a little while, they eventually reached the island and docked the Interceptor next to one of the larger rocks that had a path attached to it. They set the board onto the rock and walked onto the path, gathering together to talk.

"You lads wait here," Jack told them. "Young Turner and I will rescue the lady."

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed. "What about us?"

"You're to guard the ship, o' course," Jack explained. "It's a task given only to the bravest pirates."

"I know you're bullshitting us," Vanitas admitted with his arms crossed and eyes narrowed at the pirate. "But I do like the idea of being the getaway driver to a pirate ship."

"Yeah, me, too," Sora admitted. "All right..."

"Guard her well!" Jack told them.

He and Will then turned towards the path and started running down it, towards whatever Barbossa was doing. This left the four of them on the ship, standing and waiting.

"Yeah, he was definitely fast-talking us," Sora said after a while.

"And you fell for it," Donald told him.

"But like I said, being the getaway driver to a pirate ship is freaking cool," Vanitas reminded the duck.

"What's keeping those two?" Sora asked, crossing his arms in thought.

"They sure are taking their time..." Goofy said in equal thought.

"If Pete's hanging around, there must be Heartless here, too," Sora pointed out. "And Jack and Will aren't used to fighting Heartless."

"Let's go make sure they're still alive," Vanitas announced.

They ran along the ramp and the pathway until they entered a cave with moonlight glaring in through holes in the roof. The four of them reached the center of the cave when Will and Elizabeth ran towards them from another part of the inner cave pathways. Sora, Donald, and Goofy already had their weapons out as Will and Elizabeth stopped in front of them.

"Quick, they're after us!" Will told them.

They looked behind the two to see Barbossa's pirates charging down the cavern towards them.

"We'll hold them off!" Sora announced as they stood back in their battle stances. "Give us a sign when the ship's ready to sail!"

"Right!" Will agreed. "We'll light the signal fire!"

They ran off just as Vanitas pulled out his shotgun and pumped it in preparation. Once the pirates came into the moonlight, Donald would blast them with Thunder to stun them before the others pressed on with their attacks. During which, Vanitas found out the shotgun was pretty effective against skeleton men. Sora spammed Blizzard to freeze every pirate that came near him, which was perfect when it came to inflicting damage. They kept up all their attacks until they saw smoke flying up near the ship's masts.

"The signal!" Sora announced.

They gathered together and started running out of the cave, and didn't stop until they were out in the open. The four of them walked on the plank and back onto the ship to only see Will and Elizabeth there.

"Where's Jack?" Sora asked.

"Well..." Will said.

He then explained to them how they snuck into the back parts of the main cave to see what Barbossa had planned, and Will wanted to act immediately to help Elizabeth. Jack wanted to wait, saying they had to until the most opportune moment. Jack told him to wait there and not do anything stupid as he went off, then Will whacked him in the head with an oar, knocking him out.

Barbossa then used Elizabeth's blood to give back the final medallion, but it didn't work because she wasn't really William Turner's child. When they tossed her aside, Will helped her escape with the medallion, but they left behind Jack.

"So, you break him out of jail, he brings you here to rescue her, he tells you to wait to save her, then you knock him out and leave him at the mercy of evil skeleton pirates," Vanitas assessed. "You _are_ aware of how much of a douche bag that makes you sound like, right?"

"I had to," Will defended his actions. "Jack's no fairy-tale pirate. The real ones aren't to be trusted."

"Doesn't make you any less of a douche bag, Legolas," Vanitas told him before they went to work preparing the ship for voyage.

As they set sail for Port Royal, Will and Elizabeth went back into the Interceptor's stateroom, and Vanitas his friends and gathered up near the steering wheel since they were all curious, so Sora proposed an idea to him.

"Can you activate your own vision and find out what they're saying?" he asked. "And share the vision with us?"

"I don't know..." Vanitas said warily. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea of spying on our friends like that."

"Oh," Donald said as they all suddenly looked embarrassed. "Sorry, we didn't mean to..."

"I'm just messing with you guys," Vanitas laughed. "I have no palms with doing that whatsoever. Hell, I used to do it so I would find out what I was getting for Christmas."

The embarrassment faded from their faces and they laughed with Vanitas for a bit. Then, they all placed their hands on the frame connected to the steering wheel one at a time, so that they were connected. Vanitas then placed his other hand on his head and exclaimed in pain as his nose bled, signaling the vision had started.

They all closed their eyes to see Elizabeth and Will in the stateroom, where Elizabeth admitted to taking the medallion from Will when they found him as a kid because she didn't want a kid as young as him being hanged for being a pirate. And when Barbossa and the other pirates came, she knew Turner had to be a pirate, so she gave her last name instead of her real last name. Will realized that it was his father's blood, his blood, they needed for the medallion. The blood of a pirate.

The vision then shifted to show Jack with ropes tied around his arms, holding them in place. He and Barbossa had a little verbal sparring match, where Jack said when Barbossa marooned him on an island with no way out, he forgot that he was Captain Jack Sparrow. That made Vanitas laugh at how cool it actually sounded. Jack then snapped at his old first mate to give him back the Pearl, but Barbossa just had him sent to the brig. One of the subordinate pirates announced they were coming up on the Interceptor, and when asked what to do, Barbossa just snapped, "Whaddya think, you idiot!?"

"That's not good," Donald announced as the vision ended and they all gasped slightly.

"Ah, does it always leave the feeling of a migraine?" Sora asked, rubbing the back of his head in slight pain.

"Just you guys," Vanitas admitted, rubbing the blood off of his lip. "With me, it feels like I'm getting a machete through each eyeball."

The group then went to work around the ship to make sure they were prepared, with Will going behind the wheel once again, and Elizabeth looking over the side of the railing.

"Will, look!" Elizabeth announced.

They all gathered on that side of the ship and looked to see the Black Pearl sailing right towards them, pretty quickly.

"What now?" Donald asked.

"I wonder what Jack would do," Sora thought aloud.

"I'm not sure," Will said with a hand on his chin in thought. "I suppose... he'd run for it."

"Sounds good to me!" Sora exclaimed as cannonballs suddenly hit the ship, causing it to shake wildly, knocking Will over the railing.

The blacksmith exclaimed in fright as he fell towards the water. Elizabeth ran over to the railing and looked over the railing, calling out "Will!" but she couldn't see him.

"Everyone hit the deck!" Goofy announced, lying on the ground as the others stood back up.

The ship shook once again as more cannonballs hit, causing them all to fall to the ground again.

"Who thought this was a good idea again?" Vanitas asked as they started pushing themselves up again.

Sora gasped as he saw the medallion on the ground. He quickly stood up and picked it up, determination growing on his face.

"We're just gonna have to fight!" he announced.

Within moments, the Black Pearl had sailed close enough that it was next to the Interceptor. Cursed pirates jumped aboard, of varying categories. Vanitas slashed with his machete as one holding two axes charged at him. He deflected the attacks and slashed with his fire encased blade, taking the skeleton out with one swipe.

Sora and Donald used magic consisting of either Thunder or Blizzard to stun the approaching pirates, before Sora blocked the rifle blast of one in a raincoat. The brunette started using combo attacks to damage the pirates that came near him while Goofy slid on his shield like it was a sleigh in an attack, and Donald whacked other pirates with his staff.

More pirates charged the group with axes, then Sora got the idea to blast the Black Pearl with their own cannons, especially since they were firing theirs in the center of the area they were fighting. As cannonballs hit the ship, Vanitas remembered how in the movie, Jack yelled, "Stop blowing holes in my ship!" That made him laugh.

Something that made the fight a little difficult was the masts of the ship above them provided shade from the moonlight that made the pirates invulnerable again. They had to draw out the pirates before they attacked, but then their attacks would occasionally knock the enemies back into the protection of the shade. This ended up giving the ones with the bombs enough cover to knock out Donald with their explosions.

While Vanitas kept blasting pirates with fire, Sora activated Valor form, which made Goofy disappear. He then started the usual even more wicked combo attacks with help from having two Keyblades at once, and dominated the pirates that came in front of him. Well, when they didn't go into the shade to protect themselves. One of the explosions caused Sora to drop the medallion, and another pirate to grab it.

Vanitas slashed at the pirate with the axes with his machete, destroying him and causing him to drop the medallion. Vanitas then picked up the medallion and slipped it into his ammo pocket as he slashed through another pirate.

The group kept up their attacks until Valor form wore off, so Goofy was back with Donald awake again, and the top of the Black Pearl was smoking.

"Hooray!" Donald cheered.

"We beat the pirates!" Sora announced.

"Well, did you now, laddie?" Barbossa's voice asked behind them.

They turned around to see the pirate captain with three more of his subordinates, with the bound forms Jack and Elizabeth next to him.

"Saw that coming," Vanitas admitted.

"Jack!" Sora exclaimed at the sight of their kidnapped ally.

The four of them looked around to see that more cursed pirates were behind them in skeleton form.

"Now, then, I'll be having back that medallion," Barbossa announced. Vanitas pulled out the medallion from his ammo pocket, but instead stood in a fighting stance with his friends. "Unless it's more important than their lives?"

"Barbossa!" Will's voice announced from the side of the ship. They all turned to see the man in question standing on the railing and holding onto the rope with one hand while pointing a pistol at Barbossa with his other. "She goes free!"

"Go ahead boy, shoot!" Barbossa told him. "We can't die."

"You can't..." Will said, before he moved the gun nuzzle to under his chin. "But I can. My name is Will Turner! My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner! His blood runs in my veins!" *** _3_ ***

Barbossa went "Aye," as his eyes widened in surprise.

"On my word, do as I say," Will ordered. "Or I'll pull this trigger, and be lost to Davy Jones' locker."

"Name your terms... Mr. Turner," Barbossa said, looking up at the man with the gun pointed at his own head.

"Release Elizabeth," Will told him. "And Sora, and Vanitas, and Donald, and Goofy, too!"

"Anythin' else?" Barbossa asked as Jack started raising his head to get Will's attention.

"Leave, now!" Will ordered, making Jack look down.

"Why is he such a dick?" Vanitas muttered.

"Agreed," Barbossa said, bowing. "Leave we shall..." He looked back up with a wicked smile. "But the Heartless stay."

Pete then seemingly appeared out of nowhere and laughed wickedly as he grabbed Will, pulled the gun out of his hand, and hit him in the back of the head. Will fell unconscious into Pete's arm as Air Pirate Heartless appeared over the sides of the ship. Pete grabbed the medallion from Vanitas's hand with his free one and ran over next to Barbossa.

"No fair!" Sora exclaimed.

"They're bad guys," Vanitas reminded him. "They never play fair. Honestly, I saw that coming, too."

The off worlder quartet and Jack and Elizabeth were all tied up and bound in the stateroom of the Interceptor, with Pete and Barbossa looking down at them from the door at the top of the stairs.

"Good work, Barbossa!" Pete congratulated the pirate. "Who knew it'd be this easy?"

"Barbossa, you coward!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"That's the last time I trust a pirate!" Sora announced.

"Maybe make it the last time you trust someone allied with Pete," Vanitas told him.

"The powder kegs are ready, Captain!" a subordinate pirate announced.

"Then I bid ye farewell!" Barbossa announced.

The doors shut, and after a little while, they heard the sound of the Black Pearl sailing away.

"What are we gonna do!?" Donald exclaimed in fear.

"We'll be blown to smithereens!" Goofy exclaimed in equal fear.

"Why struggle, mate?" Jack asked. "A pirate knows when to surrender."

"Are you serious, Jack?" Sora asked.

"Your average pirate, anyway," Jack admitted.

The rope fell from around Jack, and he stood up and slid the knife in his hand into its sheath.

"My man," Vanitas said, smirking at the pirate.

"First, we've got to see to the gunpowder," Jack informed them. "I'm not about to lose this ship!"

"Sounds like no fire, then," Vanitas commented.

"I still don't plan to trust pirates again," Sora admitted.

"Wise policy, lad," Jack admitted.

Luckily, it didn't take them too long. The first three barrels were close enough together on the part of the ship with the cannons, which Sora managed to knock off with his Keyblade while dodging attacks from the Air Soldiers. Vanitas climbed up onto the stern as some more living cannons tried lighting the last two barrels on fire. He managed to throw one off and into the water before kicking the other one off. Once the barrels were off the ship, they managed to take out the Heartless pretty easily.

"All clear!" Sora announced as they all stood on the stern while Jack ran up to the wheel.

"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship," Jack muttered to himself. "But I'll be havin' her back soon enough."

They sailed back to Isla de Muerta, and docked the ship at the same place they did before. They all climbed off the ship and walked forwards onto the rock a bit, but then the team stopped and looked back to see Elizabeth walking with them.

"You stay with the ship, lass!" Jack told her.

"I'll do no such thing!" Elizabeth denied. "Will could die in there."

"Dear William is fine," Jack assured her. "Trust me."

"I am not a fool, Jack," Elizabeth told him.

"Then trust me instead!" Sora announced.

"Sora, V, Donald, Goofy... bring Will back safely!" she begged of them.

"We'll make sure he's all right," Vanitas assured as they nodded their heads at her.

The group of five ran through the caves for a good, long while, until they reached the circular cave with jewels and gold all around. On a raised part in the center of the cave were Will and Barbossa next to a large chest of the Aztec gold. Cursed pirates were all around, cheering in excitement.

"Ahoy!" Sora announced as they ran into the room. "Treasure, mateys!"

"Not possible," Barbossa said, looking at the five with wide eyes.

"Not probable," Donald corrected him. "We're alive and we're pirates!"

"Captain Jack Sparrow!" Jack announced.

"Gun man Vanitas Jordan!" Vanitas announced, cocking a sniper rifle in his hands.

"Sora!" Sora announced.

"Donald Duck!" Donald announced, holding up his staff.

"Goofy, too," Goofy announced, holding up his hand.

"So you want to play pirate?" Barbossa taunted. "Best save the playacting for the nursery. After them!"

The cursed pirates charged at the group, but since the moonlight was shining into the room, they managed to take out the pirates actually pretty easily. Sora slashed at the last soldier with his Keyblade, breaking it to pieces.

"No more playacting now!" he taunted to Barbossa.

"Thank you, Sora," Will said, running up to the brunette.

Donald and Goofy walked up to them, with the latter asking, "Uh, where's Jack?"

"Found him," Vanitas said, pointing towards said man sword fighting with Barbossa.

The two were in strong combat in the shade, with Barbossa having his normal appearance, and Jack faring pretty well.

"Jack!" Sora cheered. "Get him!"

Jack looked towards them briefly, asking, "Huh?" That ended up leading Jack to getting a sword through his guy.

"Jack!" Sora exclaimed in worry.

_Damn it, Sky!_ Vanitas thought.

"You're a fool, Jack Sparrow!" Barbossa taunted as he pulled the sword from Jack.

The Captain stumbled back, giving the appearance of someone stumbling to death, before he fell into moonlight and transformed into a skeleton, himself. Jack held up his skeleton hands and looked at them in amazement before raising his left hand to reveal a gold medallion.

"I couldn't resist, mate," Jack admitted, with what could have been a slight smirk if he had his lips.

"Jack..." Will said with some relief.

"Well, that's one way to do it," Vanitas admitted with a slight smile.

Barbossa fumed before he looked off to the side. "Show yourself, Pete! The tide has changed."

The cat once again appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

"See?" Pete asked, resting his fists on his sides. "I told ya you'd be needin' ol' Pete!"

He whistled, and a small, chameleon like Heartless crawled down one of the ceiling parts of the cave. It hopped along the stalagmites before crawling down the wall next to Barbossa, with its eyes glowing.

The team regrouped next to the raised part in the center, just as the Heartless floated up above the chest. Purple flames appeared from its tail, and the moonlight disappeared, casting most of the area in darkness.

"Luckily this scope has a night vision setting," Vanitas said, pressing the button on the more advanced part of the scope.

He raised the scope to his eye, and found the Heartless on one of the walls. Vanitas fired two bullets, which destroyed it just in time for Barbossa fired his own pistol towards the group. Sora got hit, but Jack threw up a Potion to heal him just as he started the Wisdom Drive form. Donald disappeared, and Sora's clothes were suddenly given a blue hue. He froze Barbossa with Blizzard, then started shooting bursts of magic at the pirate.

Once the Blizzard wore off, Vanitas blasted fire at the pirate before Sora blasted Thunder and kept shooting smaller bursts of magic. Sora then used his own fire twice as Vanitas shot his rifle, Goofy threw his shield, and Jack threw up some bombs. Once Barbossa's thrown around stunned form got close enough, Jack started slashing the pirate with his sword before Sora reverted out of Wisdom.

Sora then started a team attack with Jack, which for some reason started with finding a treasure chest on the ground. Sora opened it, and a large burst of magic rose up, picking up Jack and Vanitas. Vanitas pulled out a knife and exclaimed as the three of them jabbed their weapons at Barbossa, who was also picked up by the magic. After a few seconds of doing that, Sora tried pushing the chest closed, as Jack dropped a bomb inside. He shut it, releasing the energy which dropped everybody. The trio of heroes then moved out of the way as the chest exploded, damaging Barbossa.

They then started attacking the enemy Captain with their various weapons, before he lunged forwards while shashing with his sword, twice. This left Donald knocked out and Goofy reaching for Potions. Jack then offered a hand, which Sora took. The pirate spun Sora around, and he kicked Barbossa up into the air. Sora then jumped up onto Jack's shoulders and leaped up, slashing at Barbossa with his Keyblade, knocking him back pretty far.

While the pirate was in the air, Vanitas took advantage of the free target practice by firing at him, knocking him back a bit more back in the room. Barbossa landed next to the chest, and fired his pistol near the group again, hitting Vanitas, which knocked him across the room. Since when were pirate guns this powerful?

Sora then used an aerial combo as the pirate tried lunging forwards. Jack kept throwing bombs as Barbossa then swung his sword in various directions towards them. Sora jumped up and used one foot to press the sword on the ground, keeping it in place. Barbossa tried pulling his pistol out to shoot, but Sora smacked him in the face with his Keyblade just in time, ending the fight.

The two pirate captains ran off to another part of the cave as the off worlders stood ready against Pete. Pete looked surprised to have lost again while Will stood next to the chest with the Aztec gold.

"This ain't over!" Pete announced, sounding like a whining infant before he ran off out of sight.

"Right," Jack told the leaning forwards form of Barbossa. "Care to surrender, Barbossa?"

The enemy captain pushed himself to his feet and pulled his sword back out, standing read against Jack.

"Well, enough of this, then..." Jack said in thought. He threw his sword to the ground, much to Barbossa's surprise. He then pulled his pistol out and pointed it at Barbossa, pulling back the chamber. "What's say you we call it... a draw?"

"Jack, how many times do I have to tell ya..." Barbossa said, pointing his sword at his former captain.

Jack then tossed the medallion he took to Will before firing at Barbossa, who then started to laugh as the bullet hit him, appearing to have no effect.

"Laugh while you can, Barbossa!" Will announced.

The pirate looked over to Will just in time to see him drop the two blood covered medallions in the chest, where they landed among the other 800. Barbossa's eyes widened and his jaw dropped before he suddenly convulsed, bringing his fists up to himself.

"I feel... cold," the pirate announced.

He fell straight down onto his back, dead.

"Well, it's a good thing that happens pretty often on this world," Vanitas commented. "He might not end up going to prison for murder."

The group made their way back through the caves towards the Interceptor again, just reaching the part of the rock they docked the ship at. They stopped and Will and Jack faced each other.

"What now, Jack?" Will asked the captain.

"Whatever I want, now that the Pearl is mine again," Jack told him.

They looked towards the ship in the water, Jack smiling the whole time.

"That, she is," Will agreed. "Thank you, Jack."

Will reached a hand out, and Jack ducked down while blocking his head, making Vanitas laugh.

"I didn't want ye hittin' me again, mate," Jack admitted.

"Hey, Jack, good luck," Sora told him.

"You were a much better Captain Jack than the one my brother pretends to be," Vanitas admitted with a smile.

"And remember to be good!" Donald told him.

"I'm off," Jack informed them, pointing at them and backing up.

Jack then turned towards the Interceptor and smiled.

"Will!" Elizabeth exclaimed, running towards them relieved.

Jack opened up his arms, but then the smile dropped as she ran past him and enveloped Will in a hug. Jack sighed out and walked over to an edge of the rock to view the Black Pearl in the distance, while Will and Elizabeth hugged.

"Good for them," Sora commented as he rested his hands on the back of his head again.

"Uh, huh," Goofy said as he and Vanitas nodded their heads in agreement.

They then looked at Sora, and realized something was off.

"Hey, Sora..." Goofy said, surprising the brunette. "How come your face is all red?"

"What?" Sora asked, trying to cover his face. "It is not red!"

"Aw, I know who you're thinking about," Donald announced smugly.

This made Sora try to cover his face again to stop them from laughing. Everyone then jumped in surprise as the compass in Jack's hand suddenly flared a bright light. He opened it to look at it, but then it suddenly floated up into the air and glowed with light again.

The Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand, so he held it in both hands and looked down at it. Light then gathered in a large, see through sphere at the end, and then the design of a crown appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. Light then shot out of the compass and up into the air, which formed a Keyhole. Sora jumped back, swung his Keyblade around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

Everyone looked up in amazement as the light faded.

"You know..." Sora said with a smug smile. "For a minute there, I was a afraid we were gonna lose Donald to the curse of the treasure!"

"Yup," Goofy said, holding up his hand and pointing at himself, smile on his face. "Me, too."

"I was sure we were gonna," Vanitas admitted with a smirk on his face.

"What!?" Donald exclaimed angrily.

The other three laughed at his angry reaction before they made their way to the ship, ready for the next destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Yeah, I know it's probably well known at this point, but Sora's name means "Sky"
> 
> *2 I also ran Isla de Muerta through Google translate, it actually means Death Island
> 
> *3 In the game, he kinda lost the edge of the threat by lowering the gun and stepping off the ledge afterwards. I felt the need to correct that here
> 
> I always loved the fighting music on this world. It just sounds so badass, it's awesome


	12. Magic Lamps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group winds up in a familiar place with familiar friends. And of course, familiar enemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It can be a little hard to find motivation because being trapped at home with my uncle using my car means it's hard to get motivated to do any of the same stuff I've been doing lately. I'm only 18 and I just graduated high school a month ago, and I'm working on applying for college, but it gets a little hard since I don't understand how to do a lot of this stuff

The flight in the ship to the next world was in... semi quietness. Vanitas once again downed a sleeping potion, once again had nightmares about his friends from the Organization, and once again refused talking about it. It still hurt a lot to even think about what happened to them, _and_ he couldn't find a way to explain it to them without giving away what happened to Riku, who had practically begged him not to say something. He hated that he was in situations like this. *** _1_ ***

The next world they found themselves in turned out to be Agrabah, which they knew from their previous journey. They docked the ship, and the four of them walked through the new forms of the city, under arches and through pathways.

"Agrabah!" Donald announced as they walked out into the open. "We made it!"

"Gawrsh, I wonder how Aladdin 'n' Jasmine are doin'," Goofy commented as the duck stopped and looked back at them walking out of the path through the wall.

"Hey, maybe Riku's with them!" Sora suggested.

"The last time he saw either of them, he was kidnapping Jasmine," Vanitas reminded Sora. "I don't think he'd want to spend that much time with them after _that._ "

They kept walking down the path, not noticing a red parrot with a yellow beak flying down from one of the taller parts of the city after them.

"Anyway, last time I saw them, they were working on rebuilding the city after some massive sandstorm," Vanitas explained while walking. "All the while Genie was on vacation with Carpet. Aladdin said he didn't want magic help rebuilding, which I relayed to Genie, but he at least helped them out by making the sandstorm disappear."

"What a good friend," Donald commented with a smile as they walked towards a giant hole in a brick wall.

Goofy turned around and stopped at the sight of the bird flying towards and around him.

"Uh oh, it's uh... um..." he started to say, trailing off in thought. It finally came to him, "It's Iago!"

Sora, Donald, and Vanitas stopped their walking and turned around with their weapons drawn.

"Wait! You got me all wrong," the parrot insisted as he flew up towards the three.

"You're Iago all right," Donald remarked.

"No! I mean, it's not the old me," Iago insisted. "I turned over a new feather. I'm legit! No more scams. Promise!"

"Bet that's your new scam," Sora snapped, crossing his arms.

"Ya gotta believe me!" Iago insisted.

"Sora, let's go!" Donald remarked.

"Hang on a sec," Vanitas said. "I'm skeptical, too. But I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, since the first time I met you guys, _I_ was scamming you. And now we're practically inseparable. Let's hear him out."

"I was stuck inside that lamp with Jafar," Iago reminded them. "Remember?" He floated down to rest on some nearby steps. "Well, I finally escaped. But then some things happened and..."

"So. Free as a bird, huh?" Sora asked, sarcastically.

"Have fun!" Donald remarked, not really caring.

"Gawrsh, fellahs," Goofy said. "He looks pretty sad."

"Yeah, like he's actually sorry," Vanitas agreed.

"I wanna apologize to Aladdin and Jasmine," Iago told them, flying up to rest in Goofy's offered hands. "Could you guys maybe put in a good word for me?"

"Sure," Goofy told him before looking at the others. "We can do that, can't we?"

Sora and Donald just had eyebrows cocked, like they were asking, "Really?"

Iago then looked to the side, and flew up into the air, exclaiming with fear, "Watch out!"

They got out their weapons, with Vanitas pulling out his BO staff as new forms of Bandit Heartless surrounded them.

The Bandits held _khopesh_ swords in both hands, so they were able to do their own combo attacks, stopping Donald's repeated blasts of Thunder. Sora started his own combo attacks, which could consist of two finishing attacks and Blizzard occasionally replacing a middle attack. Vanitas twirled his staff around to block the sword strikes and then striking the Heartless with the long parts of the staff. Amazing what a stick four inches taller than he was could do.

After the first wave of Bandits came Shadows and other Bandits appearing at random. Really, if they broke a bunch of boxes in one corner, a Bandit popped up where it was. Goofy started sliding around on his shield like it was a sleigh to attack the Shadows. Sora and Vanitas took care of the remaining Bandits before Sora threw up a Hi-Potion to heal Donald.

Donald woke up just as more Bandits appeared, so Sora started Unity Limit once again. They did the usual, first the multiple strikes, then Donald had them all shooting fireworks, then they fired out Drive Orbs (which was still confusing), before Vanitas had them all launch out fire. They landed together and raised up their weapons, releasing lots of bright light which faded after a second.

The four of them stood together just as more Bandits surrounded them. But after the Unity Limit, even Vanitas was tired. And not just because of the weird thing of him suddenly feeling bouts of exhaustion.

"Where are they all coming from?" Sora asked, annoyed.

Two then ran towards Iago on the stairs, and he flew up in fear. The Heartless instead crashed onto the wall, stumbling down onto the ground. Iago then flew to the side, scared, and knocked a vase and a crate off one of the wall shelves above, causing them to fall and break on the other bandits, knocking them down to the ground.

"This way!" Sora instructed.

They ran down the cleared pathway with Iago flying frantically behind them. The group ran through a doorway covered with a curtain into a rather dumpy room. There wasn't a lot, just some vases and carpets, and a rug attached to the wall in front of them. Iago perched himself on one of the wooden shelves up up the wall.

"Aw, we would have been goners if Iago hadn't helped us," Goofy remarked, getting the bird's attention on them and vice versa. "Ain't that right, fellas?"

"He did help us," Vanitas admitted.

"I guess we owe you one," Sora admitted, looking up at the parrot.

"Perfect!" Iago exclaimed.

"But you'll have to win over Aladdin and Jasmine yourself," Sora told him. "Be on your best behavior, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," Iago assured them.

"Where _is_ Aladdin, anyway?" Goofy asked.

"I betcha he's at the palace," Iago told them.

"Then let's go!" Sora announced, and the others nodded their heads in agreement.

They exited what they guessed to be a shop (based off of the Moogle perched next to the door), and went back out through the city. The group went through the roads until they were going down the one leading towards the palace. They then walked through some doors that found them in a little courtyard outside the palace, with Princess Jasmine facing the doors in front of them.

"Jasmine!" Sora greeted as they stopped behind the woman.

She turned around and smiled at her old saviors.

"Sora! Vanitas! Donald! Goofy!" Jasmine greeted.

"Your Majesty," Donald said, leaning forwards to bow, with the others following his example (even with Vanitas being a little reluctant).

The bows caused Jasmine to giggle, which was actually part of the reason Vanitas didn't want to do it.

"I never had the chance to thank you for before," Jasmine admitted. "You helped Aladdin defeat that awful Jafar and saved Agrabah."

"Plus, all that crazy shit back at Hollow Bastion," Vanitas remembered.

"All in a day's work," Sora admitted as he rested his hands on the back of his head, while Iago hid behind Goofy. Sora then lowered his arms and developed a slightly upset demeanor. "But, uh... it looks like the Heartless are up to no good again. Is there any way we can help you out?"

"I think we're all right for now," Jasmine told him.

"And ya always got Aladdin," Goofy assured her.

"He... hasn't been himself lately," Jasmine admitted, looking down.

"Is it because of the Heartless?" Donald asked, taking out his staff and looking around warily.

"I'm not sure," Jasmine said. She started walking off to the side. "Usually, he's the same cheerful Aladdin. But sometimes... he just seems sad." Sora and Donald put their hands to their chins in thought. "He leaves the palace and goes off by himself all the time. I've asked him about it, but he says nothing's wrong. He's gone again today. What if he doesn't come back this time?"

"Hey!" Iago said, flying up and startling Jasmine before any of the boys could stop him. "Maybe he's got a secret girlfriend! I know! I'll go find out who she is!"

"Iago!" Jasmine exclaimed angrily. She reached up to grab him, but he flew up quickly. "Quick, Sora, catch him!"

The bird flew behind Sora, who looked around with uncertainty.

"And I'll warn the guards and everyone in the palace!" Jasmine announced.

"That's a little unnecessary," Vanitas announced as the princess turned towards the doors.

"Yeah, Iago's not..." Sora started to say.

But she was already running to the doors. She went through them and shit them behind her, out of sight. Sora sighed out.

"That wasn't exactly your best behavior," Vanitas told the bird before he thought for a second. "Or maybe it was, I don't know you that well."

"Maybe it's something you said," Goofy commented.

The bird sighed out in sadness and looked down.

"Gee, maybe we should go talk to Aladdin," Goofy suggested. "He's gotta be somewhere in town, right?"

"Good idea," Sora said. "I wonder what he's been doing. Especially with Genie and Carpet gone."

The four of them (six counting Iago tagging along and Jiminy hidden in Sora's hood?) walked back down the road they took into the city of Agrabah. However, they stopped immediately in their tracks when someone on their left announced, "Stop, thief!"

They looked down to see their old friend Abu the monkey run along the ground past them carrying a lamp. The monkey chattered at them as to say "Hi," before he kept running.

Aladdin then ran out from that direction, saying, "Hi, Sora!" as he ran after the monkey.

"Come back here!" a short man with a pointed beard wearing a turban announced as he ran after them.

The four of them ran after Aladdin and the peddler into an alleyway, where they had cornered Abu.

"If you can't control that fur ball, put a leash on him!" the peddler told Aladdin.

"Look, I'm sorry," Aladdin told him. He then kneeled down to face Abu, and Vanitas was able to get a good look at the lamp, which he swore looked familiar. "You should be ashamed of yourself, Abu."

Abu reluctantly handed the lamp to Aladdin, who leaned down to offer it to the shorter peddler.

"No hard feelings?" he asked.

The peddler snatched it back and grumbled as he walked back out of the alley. Aladdin started to reprimand Abu, but then the monkey gestured down the alley to the off worlders walking over to him. He ran over to the group, and was soon followed by Aladdin.

"Hey guys, sorry about earlier," Aladdin told them. "I was kinda in a hurry."

"What happened?" Sora asked.

"You know Abu," Aladdin reminded them. "He couldn't keep his paws off that lamp."

The monkey in question screeched out and gestured to where the man had gone to try to defend himself.

"No talking your way out of this one!" Aladdin reprimanded Abu.

This did cause some laughs to erupt among the group.

"I guess you can't be _that_ down in the dumps, huh?" Sora asked.

"Who said I was?" Aladdin asked.

"Princess Jasmine," Goofy said. "She's worried 'cause you're always in town."

"Got a new girlfriend?" Donald asked, remembering Iago's earlier jest, so Vanitas smacked him on the back of the head.

"No way!" Aladdin assured them before he looked to the side and down. "Still... I guess there's no foolin' Jasmine, huh? See, Genie and Carpet took off to see the world."

"Yeah, we kinda know," Vanitas said. "I ended up back here once on my own and ran into him as he made a quick stop somewhere outside the city. He missed you."

"I miss him, too," Aladdin admitted. "But, it was what Genie always wanted, so I wished him the best and all."

"Man, it must be _really_ quiet with Genie gone," Sora commented.

"Yeah," Aladdin agreed. "That's why I come here. The action, the people... There's always something goin' on. I mean, c'mon! I met you guys here today, right? This place is full of surprises."

Goofy and Vanitas looked behind them to see Iago on the ground, shaking in fear as he looked at where the peddler was.

"Uh, Sora?" Goofy announced, getting their attentions.

"Iago!?" Aladdin exclaimed as they all looked at where the bird was shaking.

"Oh, right, he wants to apologize for all the trouble he caused," Sora informed him.

"Oh, he does?" Aladdin asked with the same skepticism Sora and Donald displayed earlier.

"Gawrsh, he's so sorry, he's shakin'!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Probably not what's going on," Vanitas informed the dog.

"Th-th-that lamp!" Iago exclaimed.

"What about it?" Aladdin asked with an eyebrow furrowed as the bird flew up to face him.

"That was _the_ lamp!" Iago announced. "You know, the one with Jafar in it!"

Vanitas's eyes widened in realization as he finally remembered where he had seen the lamp. He and Sora had had to fight both the real Iago and the illusion Iago back in Castle Oblivion to get the lamp to trap Genie-Jafar.

"C'mon," Aladdin said. "There're a million like it."

"No, he's right," Vanitas said, looking down the road where the peddler went. "That was definitely the same one that Sora trapped that prick in. I didn't even recognize it until Iago pointed it out."

"See!" Iago exclaimed. "Look, I was trapped in that thing _for months_! There's no way I'd mistake it!"

Abu took off his hat and exclaimed, gesturing to his arms that Iago was right.

"Looks like there _was_ a way for Abu to talk himself out of that one," Vanitas remarked.

"Then we'd better go back and talk to that peddler," Aladdin announced.

"Right behind you," Sora remarked.

They went towards the room before, which turned out to be the peddler's shop. Aladdin stayed outside with Abu since the man recognized them, and the off worlders went inside to negotiate with the man, who was holding the lamp in his hands.

"Is there any way we can buy that lamp from you?" Sora asked.

"Of course," the peddler told them. "That is, _if_ you can afford it."

Sora looked back to see Aladdin poking his head through, and he gestured to them that they could handle it.

"No worries!" Sora assured him.

"Yeah," Donald agreed. "We can pay you in royal treasu-"

"Donald!" Sora reprimanded him with a frown as Vanitas bore a nosebleed to shut the duck's beak.

Unfortunately from Donald's words, the peddler realized how much they had, and also saw that they weren't willing to pay that much.

"Might I interest you in another fine lamp?" the man asked, turning his back to them.

"No, that's the one we need," Sora told him.

"Ah, well, perhaps I can be persuaded..." the peddler admitted, turning to face them. "... _If_ you bring me a treasure beyond even my imagination." Sora and Vanitas's eyes widened as they winced. "Something, say, fit for a sultan..."

Donald and Goofy jumped in surprise at that part of the wish before they walked out of the room. Vanitas then ripped Donald's hat off his head.

"Hey!" Donald exclaimed.

"You'll get this back when we leave," Vanitas told him as he stuffed the hat in his sling. *** _2_ ***

Donald grumbled in annoyance as they turned back to Aladdin, who had listened to the whole conversation.

"Treasure?" he asked. "That could be tricky..."

"There's lots at the palace," Donald suggested.

"But it's not mine to take," Aladdin pointed out. "And I can't ask. I don't wanna worry Jasmine or the Sultan."

"We could have just paid him a bunch of Munny if Donald kept his mouth shut..." Vanitas remarked, annoyed.

"I'm sorry!" Donald exclaimed with equal annoyance.

"Hey, I know," Iago announced, flying up. "What about the treasure in the Cave of Wonders?"

"I thought we couldn't take that treasure?" Vanitas asked. "It's why I couldn't loot the place."

"That was then, when the lamp was still up for grabs in that place," Iago pointed out. "Things might be different now."

Sora and Donald just crossed their arms and frowned at Iago, still wary.

"All right, Iago," Aladdin told the bird. "You lead the way! And after we get the treasure, I might even believe your apology."

"You can count on me!" Iago announced.

The bird led them through the city and the Bazaar, where Aladdin showed them he was still good with the sword as they fought off various Heartless, including Bandits, Fat Bandits, and Nocturnals who could probably use win (that's what it looked like).

They walked outside the city walls and started down a path across the desert. As to be expected, the way they had to go was towards the part of the desert with many dark clouds over the sand. They entered the cloud covered area of the desert, and found themselves in front of the large tiger head entrance to the Cave of Wonders.

"This is it!" Iago announced.

They made their way through the entrance of the cave and down through the first few caverns, taking out Heartless along the way. This time, they faced off against Soldiers, those Mages Vanitas faced one time, some that looked like living molten rocks, and some more Fat Bandits. The enemies were tough, but not anything they couldn't handle.

They made their way into a long corridor with a gem floating near the entrance, waterfalls going up either side of the wall, and a statue with an empty pedestal hole underneath.

"Looks like that jewel goes in the pedestal hole," Vanitas announced.

Aladdin put a hand to his chin, thinking about the right way to do this. Abu then decided to throw caution to the wind and eagerly jumped up and caught the jewel. He landed on the ground with it, and that's when something decided to happen, because of course it was.

The waterfalls vanished, revealing empty spots. The room then rumbled, and stone statues with angry expressions appeared on top of the empty spots. Light flared in one set of angry eyes, and Abu moved to the side as ice came down above him and tried to attack.

The group then had to lead Abu across the room while protecting him from the attacks from the statues. This included both the large shards of ice, and waves randomly appearing from the water on the floor to fly towards them. It didn't take that long, and they got the monkey up to the pedestal hole, which somehow rewarded them with Donald finally learning Blizzard. *** _3_ ***

Abu put the jewel in the slot, and light then covered all the statues. When the light faded, the statues' arms were all down, and the angry expressions were gone from their faces. The statue in front then glowed brightly before it faded away, clearing the way deeper into the Cave.

The group moved on to a place called the Chasm of Challenges, which Vanitas remembered. There was a sigh in the center of the square shaped stand that read, "Complete your task within the time allotted."

"The 'task' is to fight Heartless," Vanitas announced, remembering going through this with Roxas and Xion.

"Then let's do this," Sora announced.

They all got their weapons ready, with Vanitas pumping a Remington shotgun with a stock in preparation. The floor disappeared under them, and they landed on the next one, where small Ice Cube Heartless appeared. They managed to take the four out pretty easily with their weapons, so the floor disappeared to take them to the next one. This floor had them take out two ice cubes and two molten rocks, which were finished off fairly quickly. So was the Fat Bandit on the next floor.

After that, they fell pretty far to the next floor, where they had to fight the living rocks and a Large Body. Vanitas took one Rock out with his shotgun, Aladdin did his quick attacks on one rock before attacking the Fat Bandit with Sora, and Donald and Goofy finished off the other rocks before Vanitas blasted the Fat Bandit with his shotgun, finishing it off.

They fell even more after the floor disappeared onto the last one, where they faced two Mages. Sora managed to take them out by Reflecting all their Blizzard attacks back at themselves, ending the challenge.

They all gathered back together and saw that on the side of the platform they were standing, a ledge with a doorway was floating in the air. A staircase then appeared, connecting the platform to the ledge, giving them a way up. There was a sign that read they possessed great strength, which caused the doors to open.

They walked through the doors and a hallway like cavern to find themselves in a large room absolutely filled with gold. All of them exclaimed in amazement as they saw the giant piles of gold coins, bars, and bowls that were taller than most of them combined. They walked along the carpeted floor to the center of the room, where they saw a piece of treasure that was golden with magenta, blue, red, and green jewels attached to it resting on a pedestal.

"There," Aladdin announced. "That one should do it."

Donald and Vanitas ran up to the piece of treasure that they couldn't name to get a better look at it. It was certainly something.

"Oh, boy," Donald exclaimed, pleased. "It's perfect. That guy's gonna like this."

"Sure looks valuable," Sora commented.

"Very," Vanitas said, putting a spectacle to his eye like he was a jeweler. "I'd say this has to be worth... maybe the half of one of these giant piles of gold. But, that's just a guess, and I suck at guessing."

"Great!" Aladdin remarked. "Now let's go get that lamp. We gotta keep Jafar bottled up, or he's gonna destroy Agrabah!"

Iago then helped Abu lift a golden monkey statue holding a red jewel, with Donald frowning at them and tapping his foot.

"Stop!" he exclaimed, causing them to drop the statue.

The mallard's attention was then drawn to the jewel. He stared at it intently, with a slight smile growing on his face.

"Hey, snap out of it, Donald!" Aladdin called out, breaking Donald out of the trance he was in.

Vanitas then sensed a familiar presence nearby, then a surge of darkness suddenly filled the room. He dragged Donald back down the steps to join the others just as everything in the room went dark. The group stood together in a circle of protection on the ground as everything around them went dark. Sora stood ready with his Keyblade, Vanitas took out his axe, Aladdin prepared himself, Goofy covered his eyes in fear, and Donald got a sad look on his face as Nocturnals suddenly appeared in the circle with them.

"Why does this always happen?" Donald sighed out in sadness.

The others got out their weapons and Donald immediately started shooting up Thunder. The Nocturnals all turned into white orbs, which allowed Sora an easy way to destroy each of them one at a time. The ground was then seemingly covered by ice cubes, which they all fought off with their respective attacks. Luckily, fire gave them an edge over these Heartless. The little molten rocks then followed, which were also easily taken out with their weapons, with an edge provided by Blizzard.

Three Fat Bandits then appeared around them, and Sora managed to do well by making Reflect appear around him as they all breathed fire at once. This caused the usual mini explosions while the fire breath knocked out Goofy and Donald. Sora tried Reflect again as one slammed its fist into the ground, but the others soon followed suit, knocking them back a bit.

Sora then started a team attack with Aladdin which Vanitas joined in on. First, Aladdin slashed at the Heartless many times with his sword, then they all worked together to repeatedly lunge at the Heartless one at a time with their weapons, then they all separated and slashed at the Fat Bandits with their blades faster than they could blink, which destroyed them and ended the battle.

The darkness then faded as the other two woke back up. Vanitas grabbed the gold and jeweled treasure as Sora sighed out, tired.

"Let's go!" he announced.

They started running back the way they came out of the Cave.

Luckily, this time they didn't encounter any Heartless along their trip back into the city and to the peddler's shop. However, when they reached said shop, it was completely empty. The peddler was gone, and so was the lamp.

"Hello?" Aladdin called out to the empty room.

Vanitas put the golden... thing down so it was resting against the wall. However, the next sound they heard both surprised them and didn't really surprise them at all.

"Stop your whinin' and hand it over!" Pete's voice demanded outside the shop.

"Oh, no!" the peddler denied. "I'm trading it for treasure! This lamp is going to bring me riches!"

"There's just a curtain, how are their voices that muffled?" Vanitas asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

They ran outside and looked around, just in time to see Pete chasing the peddler down the road towards the palace.

"Son of a bitch..." Vanitas muttered as they ran after the two.

They ran down the roads and into the courtyard from earlier to see Pete still chasing the peddler.

"Lamp hog!" Pete exclaimed.

"Go away!" the peddler begged.

"Gotcha!" Pete exclaimed as he got the jump on the peddler.

Pete held the merchant down with one hand and held the lamp up high in his other.

"No fair!" the peddler exclaimed.

"Heh, heh, I win!" Pete gloated, holding up the lamp.

Iago then flew over him and picked up the lamp in his beak. Pete was confused for a full five seconds before he realized what happened.

"Nice one, Iago!" Sora cheered as the bickering two realized what had happened.

"Way to go!" Aladdin cheered.

"Don't drop it!" Donald instructed, earning another slap in the head from Vanitas.

"Look! Behind you!" Goofy warned.

"Watch out!" Vanitas warned as the peddler and Pete ran after Iago.

The bird then tricked the two into running into a wall, causing the peddler to fall to the ground immediately. Iago looked back at Pete, causing him to ram into the wall next to that one and fall down, dropping the lamp. Donald and Goofy went wide eyed and covered their mouths in fear as Pete picked up the lamp.

"Nice try, bird brain," Pete laughed. "Just wait till Jafar's free! He's gonna make one beauty of a Heartless!"

"Seriously, my theory about him getting off on Heartless isn't so crazy," Vanitas said in response to the eagerness in Pete's voice.

The group started to run forwards, but then rumbling from somewhere confused them all. Even Pete looked around in confusion as the rumbling continued. High in the air, light flared briefly, and a familiar figure started flying around towards them.

"I'm HOOOOME!" Genie announced in crazy excitement.

"Al!" Genie yelled as he flew near Pete and nearly tackled him in a hug. "It's been eons! Al, you princely little muffin, you!"

Genie disappeared in a flash of smoke and appeared next to a woozy Pete, announcing, "Cosmic travel can get so lonely without a friend."

He appeared on Pete's other side with an arm around the cat's shoulders. "To think I left you forlorn and Genie-less... Oh, the HUMANITY!"

Vanitas couldn't help but laugh as Genie didn't figure it out, even as he pushed Pete aside, made his head bigger, and covered his eyes as he cried and tears flew out. Aladdin tried to get Genie's attention as the man continued his unintentional embarrassment of Pete.

"Hey, Al, you've been puttin' on weight?" Genie asked, making himself grow in size to emphasize his point.

He then disappeared and reappeared behind the still woozy Pete, pointing at him eagerly.

"Aw, of course, what am I saying?" Genie asked. "You're living at the palace now!"

Another Genie appeared, saying in a feminine voice, "Aladdin!"

The two Genies hugged as Genie exclaimed, "Jasmine!"

A blue firework then shot up from the two and exploded in the air, followed by some more, with one shaped like a heart.

"Wow," Vanitas laughed. "He could literally go fuck himself. Man, would my brother love that option."

"I can just picture it..." Genie continued, appearing next to the still woozy Pete and slapping him on the back. He disappeared and reappeared a few feet away. "Wait, tell me. Am I being a pest? Just a big blue pest? Aw, who cares, Al!"

He floated down in front of Pete and took the cat's hands.

"I'm just so glad to _see_ you!" Genie announced as what sounded like cymbals crashing originated somewhere.

"Genie!" Aladdin announced, walking over to his friend who had finally calmed down.

Genie looked down at Aladdin with some surprise before he narrowed his eyes at Pete, who's hands he was still holding. He announced, "Oops," before dropping the cat onto his back. Pete pushed himself up onto his elbow and shook off his drowsiness.

"I'll teach you to make a fool out of me!" he announced.

"Yeah, he's perfectly capable of doing that on his own," Vanitas remarked.

"Yeah!" Pete agreed before he shook his head. "Wait a minute..."

Genie exclaimed in excitement as he and Aladdin hugged, each of them happy to finally have their best friend back. The others ran over to greet him as Pete stood up and grumbled angrily.

"Time for Plan B!" Pete announced. "I'm finishing you mugs off right now!"

He angrily slammed his fist on the ground. Nearby, a wooden cart was destroyed when a geyser of water shot up, revealing a Blizzard Lord. Small hedges were then destroyed in sudden bursts of fire, revealing a Fire Lord. The group stood together as the Heartless floated up in front of them.

Aladdin leaped up to the Fire Lord and started slashing his sword at it, while Vanitas knocked fire balls at the Blizzard Lord with his baseball bat. The Fire Lord then started slamming onto the ground in a line, but Sora caught it before it could slam onto him. He then spun it around a bit before throwing it up into the air, right at the Blizzard Lord. The two slammed into each other before Vanitas fired a Mac-10 automatic weapon at the two at once.

Sora then jumped up and started aerial combos against the Fire Lord while Donald shot up Thunder and Goofy threw his shield. The Fire Lord then transformed into a bunch of Heartless rocks that fell to the ground as the Blizzard Lord prepared to breathe ice. Aladdin, Donald, and Goofy fought off the rocks as Sora plugged up the Blizzard Lord's mouth. Air then released as it flew around the area, crashing into a wall just as the others defeated all the rocks.

The Fire Lord reappeared as Vanitas launched another fire ball at the Blizzard Lord, making it turn into the ice cube Heartless. The Fire Lord tried its slamming attack again, and Sora caught it and started spinning it, hitting some of the ice cubes before throwing it in the air. He and Aladdin used aerial attacks to fight the Fire Lord as the others finished off the ice cubes. The Blizzard Lord reappeared as the Fire Lord became rocks again.

Sora stopped the Blizzard Lord from breathing ice again as the others took out the rocks pretty quickly. Vanitas blasted more fire at the Blizzard Lord, turning it to ice cubes, before firing his machine gun at the Fire Lord. Sora caught the Fire Lord as it tried slamming into the ground again, and threw him against the ice cubes, destroying them all. Both Heartless were then a little woozy, so Vanitas fired his gun at both of them before reloading it.

Sora then jumped up to stop the Blizzard Lord from breathing ice again as the Fire Lord turned into rocks again. Goofy and Donald took out the rocks with their weapons as the Blizzard Lord went flying. The Fire Lord reappeared as the Blizzard Lord soon transformed itself into ice cubes again. Vanitas quickly took out the ice cubes by knocking fire at them with his bat, so the two Lords were in the area at once again.

Luckily, Vanitas figured that since both the Heartless had turned into so few of the smaller Heartless last time, that meant that that part was done. This was confirmed when they managed to finish off the Fire Lord with their combined attacks without it transforming again. Sora did one more aerial combo and Vanitas knocked one more fireball at it before Sora started the team attack with Aladdin.

Vanitas stood back this time as the two did the many quick slashes that were quicker than the eye could see, since he didn't have a bladed weapon on him. They eventually finished off the Blizzard Lord, which glowed brightly before releasing a crystal like heart up into the air, making both disappear.

"You!" Pete exclaimed, getting the attention of the off worlders. "You've messed with me for the last time!"

"What's this, the ninth time you said that?" Vanitas asked.

"I'm gonna get you yet!" Pete exclaimed as he turned and ran to wards the exit.

"What's that, the fourteenth time you said _that_?" Vanitas asked as the cat disappeared from sight.

Genie then cheered and grabbed Aladdin in a hug again, and the two gave each other thumbs ups. Carpet then flew towards them with Abu riding on its back, and Iago flew up carrying the lamp in his talons.

They went deep into the palace basement and put Jafar's lamp in a stone case. It took Sora, Vanitas, and Aladdin combined to close the lid, so they figured that that was good enough to keep people out of it.

Once they were done with that, the off worlders regrouped with Jasmine, Genie, and Iago back in the palace courtyard.

"I promise, you won't regret givin' me another chance," Iago assured Jasmine. "Honest!"

"Uh..." Genie said, getting their attentions. "Princess Jasmine, you sure you want that pigeon in the coop?"

"Oh, I think Iago's shown that he means well," Jasmine decided.

"Aw, sure," Genie agreed. "You're probably right."

"And how much trouble can one noisy bird cause?" Sora pointed out.

"You do remember how much trouble Donald causes, right?" Vanitas asked.

"Hey!" Donald exclaimed before the anger faded. "Yeah, you've got a point..."

"But Iago isn't too like Donald, so I think he'll be all right," Vanitas admitted.

"You might just be right, V," Genie agreed.

"What happens next, Sora?" Jasmine asked, looking towards the group.

"Well, it was great seeing you all," Sora admitted. "But we still need to find our friends. I guess we'll be moving on."

"I hope you find 'em," Genie told them.

"Me, too," Sora said.

"Hey, where's Aladdin?" Donald asked, looking around in confusion.

"He ran off toward town, looking for Abu," Jasmine told them. "But he should be back by now."

"Al can't miss Sora and V's big farewell party!" Genie announced. "I'll have him back in a jiffy!"

Genie disappeared in a purple tornado of energy, and Aladdin's voice exclaiming, "Abu!" had them looking towards the doors to town again.

They looked to see the monkey in question carrying a red jewel in his arms and running towards them, with Aladdin running after him.

"Catch him!" Aladdin instructed.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy turned towards Abu, and the monkey stopped in his tracks as the three of them exclaimed while lunging at him. The ground shook as they hit the ground, trapping Abu underneath them. Donald immediately took notice of the jewel, recognizing it from the Cave of Wonders.

"He must have secretly stolen it from the Cave of Wonders," Aladdin assessed as they all stood back up.

"That monkey's got some sticky fingers," Vanitas commented.

"Abu!" Donald exclaimed, ripping the jewel from the monkey's hands.

He then marveled at the jewel, similar to how he had done back at the Cave.

"I guess some things are just hard to resist," Goofy commented before Donald shook his head.

"Aw, who needs it?" Donald asked before he made a move like he was throwing the jewel away.

However, the way the duck quickly moved his hand behind his back, and there being no sound of the treasure hitting the ground made it abundantly clear he was trying to hide it for himself. Abu exclaimed at Donald about it, forcing him to reveal his trick.

"Oh... I guess it got stuck!" Donald tried defending himself, to no avail.

He and everyone else exclaimed in surprise as the jewel then suddenly glowed with bright light.

The Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand, so he held it in both hands and looked down at it. Light then gathered in a large, see through sphere at the end, and then the design of a crown appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. Light then shot out of the jewel and up into the air, which formed a Keyhole. Sora jumped back, swung his Keyblade around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

"Sora... what is it?" Aladdin asked, after everything was normal again.

"I think it's time for us to go," Sora admitted.

"Will you be back?" Jasmine asked, walking up to Aladdin and taking his arm.

"We will, I promise!" Sora assured her.

Aladdin gave them a thumbs up, and Genie appeared in time to give Sora a Lamp Summon Charm for later before they made their way back to the ship.

As they sat in their seats, a wave of exhaustion came over Vanitas, causing him to fall asleep without a Potion for the first time in about a decade. In his sleep, he saw visions of Pluto in the World that Never Was, following Axel into an alley before the redhead disappeared. Pluto was disappointed before the sound of someone whistling appeared behind him. He ran, excitedly towards the sound and into another portal.

Things went static-y for a second, and then Pluto was... with Kairi? Then the visions ended completely.

It looks like that with whatever was happening to him that was making him feel things again was also making his visions even more confusing than before.

 _Fantastic_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 We've all had moments where we refuse talking about the trauma we went through for good periods of time. Hell, I had something horrible happen to me and refused talking to a therapist about it for years. So, I feel it's natural for Vanitas to still be upset about what happened and not want to talk about it. Plus, him keeping the secret here is entirely different from the other times. The other times, he made the decision on his own because he feared their responses. This time, someone wanted him to keep that secret, and he agreed with the mindset they had when he agreed to keep that secret. Completely different
> 
> *2 I felt that was a fitting punishment for Donald after making them have to go to the Cave of Wonders and face off against Pete for all that
> 
> *3 I didn't even know that's when Donald learned Blizzard. I figured like Cure and Thunder, that was just something he already had
> 
> We're getting close to the point where we can do the Guardians of the Galaxy story. The plan is to have it be one of the last worlds where they have to use a Keyhole. Haven't decided if it'll be before or after Twilight Town yet, though. Maybe after Pride Lands? I'll figure it out


	13. The Door to Christmas Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang arrives back in Halloween Town to see some old friends. However, things are a little different from what they were expecting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. I've had a pretty busy week

The gate ended up taking them to another world they were familiar with, Halloween Town. Just like before, Donald's magic concealed them so they blended in with the atmosphere of the world better. Sora was dressed in black with the pumpkin mask covering some of his face again, Donald was once again a mummy with some open wrappings revealing nothing, Goofy was a Franken-dog with a large bolt in his head, and Vanitas was once again a zombie with his clothes ragged, a bite mark on his neck, his scar looking like an open wound, and one of his eyes appearing damaged.

The ship landed and the four of them found themselves in a graveyard. They walked up to a scarecrow with a jack o lantern head, with a sign reading "Halloween Town" above its head.

"So we're back in Halloween Town, huh?" Sora asked, hand on his chin in thought.

"Well, it sure does look like Hallowee..." Donald started to say before he looked to his right, now confused. "Wha?"

The others followed his gaze to see the road next to them, with buildings on either side as it led out of the graveyard. There were lights attached to the buildings close to the ground, and they appeared to have a different purpose than for just Halloween.

"I don't think people put Halloween lights that close to the ground," Vanitas commented, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

A familiar ghost dog then flew down from above them and twirled around them, surprising Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"Hey, it's Zero!" Sora announced, more in excitement. "How've you been, boy?"

"Find any good bones lately?" Vanitas asked the dog, remembering how he had helped him and Roxas those times they were looking for Heartless.

Zero then flew down the road with the lights set up, signaling that he wanted them to follow him. They walked down the road and found themselves in the slightly different town square. This time, there was a large stage set up in the center next to the fountain, with a ramp leading up into the air.

"What's that for?" Sora asked.

"I'd say skateboarding," Vanitas said. "But the denizens of this town don't appear to be ones that actually go along with that stuff."

What sounded like jingling bells surprised them, and Vanitas realized what point in this world's story they were in, from one of the movies he watched with Tony and Bruce.

"It's Jack!" Donald announced, looking up in the air.

They looked up to see Jack Skellington flying in a makeshift sleigh of a coffin with a large garbage can attached to the back, flying through the air with the help of some skeleton reindeer. Jack flew the sleigh down towards the center of town, and the reindeer slid it down the ramp, stopping in front of the quartet. The Pumpkin King stood up and greeted his confused friends.

"Sora, Vanitas, Donald, Goofy!" Jack greeted with a wave. "Welcome back, and Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas?" Sora asked, confused, as Jack walked down the ramp to greet them. "Don't you mean 'Happy Halloween'?"

"Of course," Jack assured them, placing a hand onto his chest. "Halloween greetings from Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King."

He made a creepy face as he smiled at them, gesturing in a spooky manner. He then straightened back up.

"Forgive me," Jack insisted. "I'm in a Christmas mood. You see, I'm running the show again this year, but I need Sandy Claws's blessing, so I'm off to Christmas Town."

"'Sandy Claws'?" Sora asked his three ship mates as they gathered together to converse.

"I think he means Santa Clause," Goofy remarked.

"Looks like we're finally in the actual movie," Vanitas commented.

"Huh?" Donald asked.

"I'll explain later," Vanitas admitted.

Jack then jumped up onto the fountain and waved his arms up.

"Aren't these decorations wonderful?" he asked. "This year, Halloween Town's going to handle Christmas, too!"

There were lights all around the area, and a whole bunch of presents behind the gate that led up to Jack's house. Although, besides those and the skeleton reindeer, there weren't that many actual decorations for Christmas.

"But first!" Jack announced. "We have to visit Sally. She's working on something no self-respecting Santa Claus can do without. Come along, I'll show you!"

He waved his arm to gesture to the lab and turned towards the building not too far from them.

"A Halloween Town Christmas..." Sora said in thought.

The group looked around. Naturally, they were put off by the guillotine still looking threatening, toys that consisted of a scary looking duck and a pumpkin jack-in-the-box, and the skeleton reindeer looking at them and... squeaking like birds? Donald and Goofy shuddered in fear at the sound.

"Wanna go check it out?" Sora asked.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas remarked. "This looks like it'll be cool."

Donald and Goofy sighed out as they looked down.

"C'mon, hurry!" Jack called out as he stopped and looked back at them next to the guillotine.

They walked around the stage and followed Jack up the familiar steps to Dr. Finklestein's lab, where they walked in to see just about what they expected. The doctor was sitting in front of the giant book, reading something, there were pieces of a robot on the table, and Lock, Shock, and Barrel were gathered around what looked like a leg with a wheel attached. Dr. Finklestein opened up his head and scratched his brain in thought.

"Hello, Doctor!" Jack greeted, walking up to the scientist. "Where's Sally?"

The scientist looked up at Jack, annoyance on his face.

"Can't you see that I'm in the middle of an experiment?" Dr. Finklestein asked as he closed his head.

He turned his chair towards the table and wheeled it over. The off worlders watched as the three brats lifted the leg with the wheel up and slowly walked it towards the table as Sally entered the lab, looking down in worry.

"Hey, this is way too heavy!" Lock exclaimed.

"Then let's toss it!" Shock suggested, and all three nodded their heads in agreement.

"You do and you'll be sorry!" Dr. Finklestein warned. "Now bring it over here."

"Heave-ho!" the kids announced in unison.

Sora and Vanitas jumped as they did exactly that and tossed the leg up into the air, where it landed on the table roughly. They watched for a few seconds as electricity buzzed around the leg before it stopped. Then they all exclaimed and covered their faces as the leg blew up, making smoke fly up in the air.

Sally sighed out as the kids laughed so hard they had to take off their masks. They turned towards the door and started running, with Barrel tripping along the way.

"Imbeciles!" Dr. Finklestein bellowed. "Now my experiment is ruined!"

"You want us to kick their asses again?" Vanitas asked the doctor as the kids ran out the door.

Sally watched them run before looking up to see Jack walking towards her, excitement on his bony face.

"Sally!" Jack greeted. "Did you finish it? I want to show my good friends."

"I'm sorry, Jack," she told him. "I... I need a little bit more time."

"Oh," Jack said. He then lowered himself to her level a bit and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Well, that's all right. Just as long as it's ready for Christmas!"

"But... Jack..." Sally tried saying, worry on her face as the skeleton walked towards the door.

Vanitas remembered how in the movie, Jack and the town went a little crazy with trying to take Santa's place for Christmas, to the point where they kidnapped Santa and held him there while Jack did the rounds, and Sally was the only one who knew it was a bad idea. He could sense that some of this had apparently all happened while they were gone, but Jack still wanted a chance to be Santa for a night. He could also sense that he had learned his lesson after last time, but Sally was still sure it was a bad idea for Jack to be Santa. Wait, then why was she making him something for it? *** _1_ ***

Jack stopped in front of the door and turned to face them.

"I'd best be off," he announced. "I've gotta go get Sandy Claws, right away! Wonderful to see you again. Good-bye for now!"

He left the room, while Sora looked up in thought.

"Go get Santa Clause...?" he asked, looking up. He then placed a hand over his mouth and looked down.

"Please, Sora," Sally announced. "I'm afraid something terrible will happen if Jack goes through with this."

"You can say that again!" Donald remarked, remembering Jack's plan last time they were here with the Heartless, making Vanitas frown. Was he the only one willing to consider that Jack might have learned his lesson?

"Sora?" Goofy asked.

The brunette was now looking up at the ceiling with a wondrous smile on his face, as if he was rediscovering his childhood. The sound of the door shutting again snapped him out of it.

"Are those strange looking fellows in the town square with you?" Jack asked.

"Huh?" Vanitas asked as Sora kept shaking off the child like excitement. "What 'fellows'?"

"You know, the ones who wanted to spoil Halloween _and_ Christmas?" Jack asked them, before tapping his head in thought. "What are they called again... Heartless?"

"They're definitely not with us," Sora announced. "But Donald, V, Goofy, and I can get rid of them for you." Excitement grew on his face again. "And then, we can go see Santa!"

Vanitas laughed at that while Donald tapped his foot and looked up at the brunette in annoyance. Sora looked at the duck and jumped in embarrassment at the reactions to his outburst.

"But first, the Heartless!" he tried savoring some dignity.

They ran outside the lab to see that the stage was gone, and multiple Wight Nights around the town square. The Mayor with the two faces they remembered from last time facing away from them, holding up a megaphone. Zero flew around in the air as the Mayor faced the Heartless with his sad face.

"Now hear this, you... you things!" the Mayor told them in fear. "Leave Halloween Town at once, by order of the mayor!" He then looked up. "Jack? Where are you? I'm only an elected official; I can't handle this by myself."

"Accurate portrayal of elected officials," Vanitas muttered to himself.

Jack ran up to the Mayor, and his sad face twisted around to face the skeleton, although Vanitas couldn't tell if that meant the man was happy or sad.

"Jack!" the Mayor exclaimed at the sight of him.

"We're on it!" Sora assured the Mayor as they got out their weapons and stood in their battle stances.

Sora knocked a Wight Knight up into the air and used an aerial combo to take it out, Jack charged at another one with fire in his hands, Donald blasted Blizzard at one with the help of Goofy spinning around with his shield, and Vanitas used his bowie knife to stab and slash the last one to death. Once they all finished off the Nights, Shadows appeared, which weren't anything that bad at this point. As they fought off the Shadows, Soldiers also appeared, and Jack ended up repeatedly blasting one with Thunder while Vanitas stabbed his knife through another's open helmet, destroying it.

The fountain near them then joined in when they got close, but blasted them with water that interrupted their attacks. Luckily they were able to keep things up when more Wight Nights appeared. Jack kept charging with fire in his hands, Donald shot out even more Blizzard, Vanitas did more John Wick like moves with his knife, Goofy threw or rode on his shield, and Sora used more combo attacks, Thunder, and Blizzard, until all the Nights were destroyed.

With the Heartless destroyed, the group gathered back next to the now prone fountain, with Jack facing the lab and looking down in contemplation.

"How is Sandy Claws supposed to relax with all this going on?" he asked himself. He turned towards the others with an eager smile on his face. "That's it, fellows! Sandy Claws needs bodyguards. Are you up to the task?"

"Us?" Sora asked, incredulously, as Sora simultaneously announced, "Yeah!"

"Eh, what the hell?" Vanitas muttered, shrugging his shoulders and sliding his knife into its sheath.

Donald turned towards the two and looked at them with his hands on his hips, tapping his foot as he looked at them, annoyed. Vanitas grimaced as he closed his eyes, expecting a vision. All he saw this time, though, was the three brats riding in a bathtub with legs that walked out into the graveyard. That ended, and he suddenly felt like he could sense a dark presence, a familiar one at that, nearby. But then the presence faded, his head stopped hurting, and his vision cleared.

Vanitas shook his head to get rid of the feeling as Jack walked in front of the off worlders, who were now facing the road to the graveyard.

"All right, bodyguards!" Jack announced. During his next words he turned towards the road and gestured to it with his hand. "Christmas Town is this way! The doorway is in the woods just past the graveyard!"

They followed Jack out of the woods and into the Hinterlands. There were many trees out there with unusually designed doors. One door was designed like a box with stars on it, one was shaped like a heart, one was designed like an Easter Egg, and one was designed like a turkey. However, their attentions were drawn to the one door designed like a Christmas Tree. Jack walked up to the door and faced the others as he stood next to it.

"Here it is!" he announced. "The door to Christmas Town."

He then started pacing in front of the tree, gesturing with his arms in general sadness.

"The spooks of Halloween can get so tiresome year after year," Jack explained. "I wanted something new. And I found this!"

He gestured to the door. Sora then leaned forwards with his hands on his knees in anticipation as he looked at the door, with Vanitas raising an eyebrow at him, and Donald once again mentally reprimanding him with his hands on his hips.

"Beyond this door is a world filled with wonders, the likes of which you've never seen!" Jack continued. Sora stood back up straight and smiled in anticipation. "At first, I couldn't believe my eyes! Everything was just so fresh and exciting!"

"C'mon!" Sora insisted. "Just open it!"

Jack grabbed one of the ornaments on the tree door and pulled it open, revealing a hollow chamber that led down. Jack bowed to his friends and gestured to the door, inviting them in. Sora didn't hesitate and ran up to the door, jumping down the chamber. Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas followed, and, after hesitating for a second, jumped in after him, down the chamber. All four of them exclaimed as they fell down the vortex like portal to Christmas Town.

* * *

In a small, snowy field, a tall tree loomed up in the air with a glowing jack o lantern attached to the trunk. After a few seconds, Sora, now dressed like an elf, flew out of the pumpkin and onto the ground. He tried to push himself onto his hands and knees until Donald, appearing like a snowman with stick arms and everything, landed on top of him. He tried it again, but then Goofy, with the appearance of a reindeer complete with antlers on his head and a jeweled harness around his neck, landed on top, crashing them to the ground again. Vanitas, dressed like an elf similar to Sora, had more control with his landing, landing right on his feet next to his friends. He looked down at them with an eyebrow raised as Sora pushed the other two off of his back.

"Cooool!" Sora exclaimed, looking out in front of them with wide eyes and an even wider smile.

In front of them, the snowy field extended out into a path that led all the way down to Christmas Town, with Santa's workshop right in the middle of it. Donald pushed himself up so he was sitting, and looked out with Sora and Vanitas at the town in front of them in amazement. Jack somehow landed more smoothly than the others, walking towards them and looking out at the town.

"So where's Santa?" Donald asked.

"In his workshop," Jack answered, pointing at the multi tiered building in the center of town below them. He walked a few feet, then looked over his shoulder at them. "Shall we?"

He continued walking with Sora and Donald behind him. Goofy gestured forwards, then sighed out and looked down.

"A little upset your feet have become replaced with hooves?" Vanitas asked, offering his friend a sympathetic look.

"A little," Goofy admitted, looking down sadly.

Vanitas patted him on the shoulder sympathetically before they followed their friends down the path and towards the town. The walk wasn't that long, so in very little time, they were in the empty town with buildings that appeared they were designed for shorter people, a carousel in the middle of town, and Santa's workshop as the only building equipped for normal sized people, right in front of the carousel.

"Didn't expect this place to be so empty this close to Christmas," Vanitas remarked, remembering Jack's words about how it's apparently close to Christmas on this world.

They looked around, also confused about that for a second, before Heartless suddenly appeared. Some were designed as living drillers, with the drills for noses and wheels for feet. One was designed like a Jack in the Box with feet.

"Here, too!?" Sora exclaimed in surprise as they stood in their battle stances with their weapons.

"En garde, loyal bodyguards!" Jack announced.

"You know nothing's official yet, right?" Vanitas asked, sledgehammer in one hand and Glock in the other.

Jack charged with fire in his hands at the enemies, Donald blasted Blizzard at the drillers, and Sora cast Reflect on himself as the Jack in the box popped open its top. Just in time, because what looked like a toy soldier popped out and fired a rifle at Sora, so he was able to block the attack. The small explosions weren't close enough to damage the drillers, which Donald and Jack soon finished off. Vanitas then joined in on the assault on the Box with his gun, with Goofy throwing his shield to help knock the Heartless up into the air. Once it was in the air, the soldier was replaced with a jack o lantern head, and they kept using their attacks to knock it further up into the air. Pretty soon, it was destroyed.

Two more Jack in a Boxes then appeared, and Sora started spinning the carousel, which started damaging one. Donald kept blasting Blizzard at the other, which Vanitas aided with his sledgehammer. Jack repeatedly blasted Thunder at the one that was hit with the carousel before Sora started attacking it with combo attacks, dodging it when a pumpkin head and hands with knives popped out and started stabbing at him.

Sora then started a team attack with Jack that Vanitas joined in on once the Heartless got close together. Jack grabbed the two of them, and sent them spinning, so Sora was able to attack one of the Heartless, and Vanitas attacked the other. Once that ended, they gathered together and started sending out spirits and fire in attacks, which eventually took out one of the Heartless. Jack then threw Sora up into the air, where he was surrounded in a mini tornado of spirits and fire. When he landed on the ground, they all released energy (with Jack posing like he just finished a dance), which finished off the last Heartless.

With the Heartless all defeated, the group walked up to the workshop and Sora pushed the door open.

"He really hasn't learned about knocking on doors," Vanitas commented as they followed the brunette inside.

They walked down a small entrance before finding a room next to them, and the off worlders all exclaimed in amazement at the sight of the big guy, himself, Santa Claus, sitting in an armchair with a list in his hands, with a fireplace on one side of him and a little table on the other.

"Well, hello everyone," Santa greeted. "Did you come to see if you're on my 'nice' list?"

"That is like, the most nonplussed reaction I have ever seen from a man greeting people that just broke into his own home," Vanitas laughed as they walked into the room.

Sora walked up to Santa, his eagerness never faltering.

"Your name?" Santa asked.

"Um, Sora, sir," Sora answered, placing a hand to his chest.

"Let's see... Sora..." Santa said in thought, trailing a finger down the list. "Here you are."

Sora's smile never dropped from his face. Well, until...

"Well, according to my list, Sora..." Santa said. "Seven years ago, you told everyone you didn't believe in Santa Claus... Oh, that is unfortunate." *** _2_ ***

Vanitas winced for his friend as Sora exclaimed in fright, placing his hands on his head.

"Now it makes sense..." Vanitas muttered, remembering his friend's eagerness to see Santa.

"How about Donald and Goofy?" Donald asked, looking from Sora to Santa.

Santa studied the list for a second before smiling at them and nodding his head.

"Oh, boy!" Donald exclaimed in excitement, jumping up in joy.

"What about you, V?" Goofy asked. "You gonna ask?"

"Eh, I don't need to," Vanitas said, hands in his pockets. "I already know where I..."

"Ah, yes, Vanitas," Santa said, studying the list for a second before looking up at the ravenette. "You're on the 'Nice' list, all right. Have been for years without breaking your streak. Impressive."

Vanitas looked at Santa, surprised.

"Wait, what?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, there have been moments where things almost wavered," Santa admitted. "The constant drug use. The mishandling firearms around minors. Destruction of property, and even multiple counts of breaking and entering, the ones on these latest adventures with your friends and the ones before that. Oh, and who could forget the nine year homicidal rampage where no one was killed?"

Santa laughed at that, and Vanitas offered a nervous and confused chuckle, not getting what was going on.

"But despite all that, you are still a good person," Santa assured him. "The number of people you saved with your friends against the Heartless while you were in Traverse Town. The worlds you've saved on your journeys with your friends. Doing your best to find solutions to save those _other_ friends of yours. And no matter what, you kept going to help people, despite the chances you wouldn't survive. How could someone like that end up on the 'Naughty' list?"

"Huh," Vanitas said softly, smiling while keeping his hands in his pockets. "Well, what do you know..." *** _3_ ***

"Your brother, Jack, is on the 'Naughty' list, though," Santa admitted. "Has been ever since he learned how to unlock your mother's computer."

"Sounds about right," Vanitas laughed, remembering all the internet porn he walked in on his brother watching. "Jackass should have learned how to lock the door..."

"Your sister, Eliza, is on the 'Nice' list, though," Santa continued. "She still believes in Santa Claus, of course, after everything you've told her. And all she wants for Christmas is for her favorite brother to come back home."

Vanitas was sure his heart was melting in sadness. He hadn't seen his siblings (sure, he still cared about Jack), or his mother since before this whole business with Xehanort, Xemnas, Nobodies, and the Heartless started. That was _before_ the nine year rampage and the year he had been Ansem the Wise's apprentice. Hell, for a while there, he had forgotten he even had siblings.

"We didn't know you had a brother and a sister," Donald said.

"Yeah..." Vanitas said, trailing off. "Neither did I..."

"Well, at least one of 'em's on the 'Nice' list," Goofy rationalized.

"Am I on your list, too, by any chance?" Jack asked. "It's me, Jack!"

"Jack Skellington!?" Santa exclaimed in surprise.

The sound of glass shattering made him drop the list, and all their attentions were drawn towards another door. Santa stood up and started walking towards it.

"What sort of trouble did you bring this time?" he asked Jack, angrily.

"This time?" Sora asked.

"It's a long story!" Jack admitted, raising his hands in admittance.

"I really am the only one who thinks you learned your lesson," Vanitas said in realization. He muttered, "Huh. What's that say about everyone we know?"

The group followed Santa through the door to find themselves in the workshop. On one side was a large chamber below them with three large conveyor belts below them, and a staircase next to them that led up to another room, but the door was shut. They looked around, curiously, but saw no broken windows around them.

"Why do we have to hide?" Lock's voice announced somewhere, which Vanitas heard with his good ears.

"Silence!" Maleficent's voice announced, and Vanitas figured out it was coming from the top of the staircase above them. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. That fool Jack brought Sora, Vanitas, and the others with him. Now we can deal with all of them at once!"

"Should have figured that was the familiar presence..." Vanitas muttered, sliding his Glock out.

"What do you want us to do?" Shock asked.

"Maybe try speaking a bit quieter!" Vanitas announced, pointing his gun up.

"Who's there!?" Santa yelled, standing on the staircase and looking up towards them.

"Busted!" the three kids exclaimed at once.

Maleficent disappeared in green fire as Barrel threw a bear trap at a nearby window, breaking it. They jumped out one at a time as Jack walked up to Santa and exclaimed in surprise at the sight of them.

"It's Lock, Shock, and Barrel!" he announced.

"Not those three..." Santa muttered.

"I assure you, they're not with us," Jack told Santa.

"Well, whatever the case, they've been quite naughty," Santa announced, looking up at Jack with his fists on his hips. "Catch them and bring them back here. They're going to get a lecture."

Santa turned and started going back down the stairs, and Jack gestured to him.

"Uh... Mr. Claws?" Jack asked. "I wanted to talk to you about Christmas first."

"It'll have to wait," Santa told him. "I need to see how things are progressing in my workshop."

Jack was a little sad that Santa wouldn't listen to him yet, but Sora and Vanitas knew it wasn't time yet for him to ask the man.

"C'mon, Jack, let's catch those little pranksters," Sora told him.

"You know you want to," Vanitas told the Pumpkin King.

"Oh, all right, then," Jack reluctantly agreed.

They walked outside of the house to see Donald and Goofy already out there, looking at the trail of footsteps the kids left in the snow.

"Wonder what those brats are doing palling around with Maleficent," Vanitas commented. "Eh, we'll find out when he kick their asses again."

They followed the footsteps to the tree that led back to Halloween Town. Once they reached it, they went through and ended up back in the Hinterlands. They kept following the path, but along the way, Vanitas couldn't help but feel like another familiar dark presence was originating nearby, one that they had also fought before. He put that aside for the next time they saw the brats and kept following the footsteps, all the way to the Curly Hill. They ran down the road and through the entranceway, and Vanitas jumped in surprise.

"There they are!" Sora announced, looking at the kids and somehow not noticing the Heartless floating in the air above them.

The kids jumped up into the air and climbed into the cage attached to the bottom of the Heartless, and it closed the cage with one of its clawed hands.

"Stop them!" Shock ordered the Heartless.

"Tie 'em down!" Lock added.

"Get 'em!" Barrel added.

"This won't be easy," Vanitas commented as he slid back the chamber of his Glock, preparing it to fire.

They all stood ready before the Heartless then opened the cage, shaking it a bit and dropping Barrel into its mouth. Blue fire flared, and the sleeves on the Heartless's arms became striped. The Heartless then opened its mouth with both hands and lunged at them, but they stopped it with their attacks. Donald repeatedly launched out Blizzard, Jack jumped up and blasted his own magic, Goofy threw his shield, Sora jumped up and used aerial combo attacks, and Vanitas fired his handgun. When the Heartless tried biting at them again, Sora blocked it, and it winced as it backed up before they continued their attacks.

"Eat this!" Vanitas exclaimed after a few seconds. The mouth was open, so he pulled the pin on a grenade and threw it right in. It was then that he realized, "Wait, was that a good idea since there's a kid-"

He was cut off when an explosion happened, making the Heartless invulnerable to their attacks as magic flared around it again. The sleeves returned to normal, and Barrel reappeared in the cage with the other two brats.

"Never mind," Vanitas decided, sliding a new clip into his handgun.

He pulled back the chamber in preparation to fire as the Heartless then lifted up its cage. It tried shaking it around to get one of the other kids into its mouth, and Sora jumped inside, making it close its mouth in shock. They couldn't see what was happening, but with how the Heartless rustled and jostled from side to side, they knew something was happening. The mouth burst open, and Sora hopped out. The Heartless became vulnerable to their attacks again, and Sora was able to get in a combo attack, Vanitas was able to shoot it a few more times, and Donald blasted some more Blizzard before it floated up into the air, out of reach.

The Heartless became invulnerable again as it dropped Lock into its mouth, making its sleeves go red as magic appeared over it. It lifted both its hands, making a fireball appear and fly at Sora. He deflected it back at the Heartless, where it exploded on impact. They kept up their attacks, Sora's combos, Goofy throwing his shield, Blizzard from Jack and Donald, and gunfire and fireballs from Vanitas. They attacked until the red faded from the Heartless's sleeves, and Lock reappeared in the cage.

The Heartless opened its mouth to drop one of the kids in again, and Sora jumped in once again, making it rustle and jostle before Sora flew out again. Vanitas pulled his sledgehammer back out and smacked it a couple of times, hard, while Donald's Blizzard hit it. The Heartless then spun in the air, knocking them back, before it floated up and shook the cage, dropping Shock into its mouth. Jack threw up a Mega Potion to heal them all as magic flared, making lines appear on the Heartless's sleeves.

The Heartless then floated up into the air and spun around, sending bursts of magic below towards them. Vanitas fired his handgun until it clicked empty before he followed Sora up onto the Hill. Donald and Jack kept blasting Thunder as Goofy threw his shield, while Sora jumped up to do aerial attacks against the Heartless. Vanitas made fire appear on the ground before he knocked it at the Heartless, exclaiming, "Fore!" like he was simply playing golf.

After they kept up their attacks for a little while, the Heartless became invulnerable to their attacks and spun around to get them away from it. It then opened its mouth and dropped the remaining kids into its mouth. Magic flared, turning the Heartless's sleeves green and making its eyes glow.

"Uh, that doesn't look good," Vanitas said.

This was proven when it raised its hands to make a fireball appear again, which Sora once again knocked back into it. Sora jumped up and started an aerial combo as Jack jumped up and scratched(?) with his bony hands. Sora then blocked another fireball at the Heartless, he jumped up to do another aerial combo, and Goofy threw his shield. The shield deflected off the Heartless and flew into Vanitas's free hand. He then ran up and smacked the Heartless with both shield and sledgehammer before slashing the end of the shield into the Heartless, following the example of the other Captain they knew. He then backflipped away and tossed the shield back to Goofy, who caught it.

Donald then blasted Blizzard at the Heartless again before it floated up into the air and started shooting bursts of magic down at them while spinning. They all managed to dodge the attacks, and then the Heartless floated down to their level and started biting at them. Vanitas pulled another grenade out of his pocket, pulled the pin and threw it in the mouth once again. It exploded, and the flash of light that originated whenever they defeated a boss appeared, making it clear that they finished the battle. *** _4_ ***

After a few seconds of bright light flaring, Lock, Shock, and Barrel appeared next to the exit to the area they were in.

"Ah ha ha ha!" Barrel laughed.

"That was fun!" Lock laughed.

"Let's go see if Mr. Oogie's ready!" Shock announced as they all turned to the road back to the graveyard.

They started running down the road, and Jack turned towards them.

"Oogie!?" he exclaimed in shock.

"Isn't he the one who tried to take over Halloween Town before?" Sora asked as Vanitas kneeled down a few feet from them.

"That's him," Jack admitted as he turned to face them again. "Fellows, I hope you're ready for trouble... Vanitas?"

The other three followed Jack's gaze to see Vanitas kneeling down, placing his hand on the ground. He looked up at his friends.

"I sensed two familiar, dark presences here not too long ago," Vanitas informed them. "Maleficent was already here. I guess the brats are still so infatuated with Oogie Boogie that they convinced her to revive the fat sack of bugs. As if we didn't have enough trouble already..."

The others shared knowing nods in agreement and started walking down the road back to the graveyard. They reached the area, and turned to the right to see Sally running towards them, urgently. She stopped in front of the group once she reached them.

"What's wrong, Sally?" Jack asked.

"Jack!" Sally exclaimed. "Oogie's kidnapped Santa Claus!"

"Oh, no!" Jack exclaimed in shock as everyone jumped in surprise.

"And he's headed for Christmas Town!" Sally continued.

"C'mom, Jack, let's hurry!" Sora announced, looking back at the Pumpkin King.

"Let's go tear up that bag again," Vanitas announced.

They went back to the Hinterlands and through the Christmas door, once again coming out in the area outside that tree, overlooking the town. They could see Santa's workshop in the distance, with black smoke floating up in the air from the center.

"That's Santa's house!" Donald announced.

They went back through the town into Santa's house, where they went through the door to the workshop and looked around with their weapons drawn. The warehouse was given a Halloween-y makeover, with skull designs on the walls. The sound of evil laughter garnered their attentions above them, and they looked up to the top of the staircase to see Oogie Boogie standing there, bending over while laughing.

He then jumped off the stairs and landed next to the door as Sally walked out, looking around in amazement. Oogie charged forwards, knocking her onto the ground below as he landed on one of the tall bins at the end of one of the conveyor belts.

"Jack Skellington!" Oogie exclaimed, looking over his shoulder at them.

"Oogie!" Jack exclaimed.

"You and I have a score to settle, Jack!" Oogie laughed. "Same goes for your little sidekicks!"

"What are you planning to do with Sandy Claws?" Jack asked.

"Who?" Oogie asked, placing a hand on his head in confusion. "Sandy Claws? I don't know what you're talking about!"

"This guy's got worse amnesia than me," Vanitas commented as Oogie jumped down onto one of the converyor belts.

"And why is this roly-poly red guy here?" Oogie asked, looking down at the bound Santa below him. "Time to go, grandpa!"

He picked up Santa and moved him to his feet, walking to the path to the end of the conveyor belt. Oogie laughed wickedly, but then he muttered, "Eh?" in confusion as a leg flew through the air and landed in front of him. Oogie was so confused that Santa was able to wrestle free and jump off the conveyor belt, running towards Sally.

"Mr. Santa Claus!" Sally exclaimed, waving from her position, leaning against the wall since she had detached one of her legs.

Oogie growled in anger and started running towards them, but stopped when the group of heroes ran in front of him with their weapons ready.

"Why, you..." Oogie growled out.

He then turned and ran towards the conveyor belts. He jumped into the transport point of the center one and jumped in, disappearing into the blackness. The group jumped up onto the conveyor belt, but then a glass control station appeared from nowhere above them, with Oogie on it. The station descended until it was above the center conveyor belt, overlooking them. Oogie chuckled darkly, then pressed a button.

Barriers came up on the sides of each conveyor belt, along with spikes at the back of each one, as the belts slowly but surely started to slide back. They all exclaimed in surprise as this happened all at once.

"Stop!" Donald exclaimed.

He charged into the center entrance port as blue light appeared around it and the one in front of the left conveyor belt. Donald then came out of the port onto the left conveyor belt. He exclaimed in confused surprise before running back through the port, and ended up coming back out through the center port.

"Not again?" Donald asked in confusion before he re-joined his friends.

Vanitas pulled out a hunting rifle and fired up at Oogie while boxes appeared out of the port in front of them. The gunfire couldn't reach Oogie, but made cracks appear in the glass. Oogie taunted them while Sora started knocking the boxes up into the control panel with Oogie. A large, novelty fist then appeared from nowhere and started punching down on the conveyor belt, and they all had to dodge the fists. Sora then ran up to the boxes and started knocking them up again, causing the glass to crack some more. They blocked it as Oogie sent out a die that exploded on the ground, then Sora knocked up enough boxes that the glass broke under Oogie, causing him to fall down and join them.

The group didn't hesitate and charged at him with their attacks. Sora did his usual combo attacks, Jack slid around with fire on his hands, Vanitas used his rifle like it was a club, Goofy spun around attacking with his shield, and Donald blasted Blizzard. After they attacked him enough, Oogie got his senses back and ran back through the port. He reappeared in a glass control station that descended down from nowhere, and the conveyor belt moved even faster than before. Sora was able to slide forwards to dodge it, and Vanitas grabbed Donald in his free hand (he was the closest and the smallest), and leaped forwards to protect them from the spikes. Jack and Goofy weren't as lucky, but the spikes didn't hurt them too much.

They managed to keep knocking the boxes up into the control station, cracking the glass, while now also fighting the Heartless released from purple sealed packages. Once the glass cracked enough, Oogie moved the control station to the right side, and they used the ports to slide over to that conveyor belt. Vanitas fired his rifle at the control station one more time, which shattered the glass, making Oogie fall down to join them again. They attacked with each of their weapons again, with Jack blasting Blizzard this time, Vanitas stabbing with his knife, Goofy throwing his shield, Donald blasting Thunder, and Sora keeping up his combo attacks. Oogie then charged back through the port, and appeared in a glass control station above the center conveyor belt again.

The group had to use the ports to get onto the center belt again, at least after some of them got hurt by the spikes from the belt going very quick again. They faced Oogie, as he started sending out electricity to attack them. Vanitas threw up a Mega Potion to heal all of them as Sora started knocking the boxes up again. One of Oogie's packages opened up next to them, revealing an elemental Heartless that caused a tornado, which Donald and Goofy finished off quickly.

Sora and Vanitas chased Oogie across the conveyor belts for a bit before they found themselves back in the center one. Sora knocked more boxes up into the control station as Vanitas fired his rifle, destroying the glass and making Oogie drop down to their level again.

Sora then started the team attack with Jack again. Like before, Jack grabbed the two of them, and sent them spinning, so they were both able to attack Oogie. Once that ended, they gathered together and started sending out spirits and fire in attacks. Jack then threw Sora up into the air, where he was surrounded in a mini tornado of spirits and fire. When he landed on the ground, they all released energy (with Jack posing like he just finished a dance), which finished off Oogie, ending the fight.

Similar to the last time they had fought him, Oogie exclaimed as a tear in the side of his leg started spewing bugs. He tried covering it up, but then bugs started spewing out of the tear in his other leg. Bugs continued to fly out until Oogie shrunk down, emptying completely and dying once again. One prominently large bug crawled towards them, and Donald stepped on it.

"I don't know how Screaming Mad George does it," Vanitas muttered in disgust. "Bugs are gross." ***** _ **5***_

The off worlders then gathered together in courtyard outside Santa's house, next to the door. The others were still inside.

"All right, Christmas is safe again!" Sora announced.

"Perfect!" Jack exclaimed to announce his arrival, walking past them. "I'd better get down to business!"

Donald quacked in surprise before announcing, "Leave that to Santa!"

"Yup, you ought to stick to Halloween and spooky stuff!" Goofy agreed.

Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows. He was actually kind of curious to see what Jack could do as Santa Claus after the lesson he learned last time. Was he really the only one that wanted to see it?

"Jack?" Sally's voice called out. He turned to see her leaving the house, walking towards him with red clothes in her arms. "Here, it's done."

"Wonderful!" Jack announced, raising his really long arms in excitement. "Why, I love it! Thank you, Sally."

"Jack... Do you really have to do this?" Sally asked as Jack changed out of his black and white pinstriped suit in front of them and into the Santa Claus costume she made him.

"But I make a splendid Sandy Claws," Jack insisted.

"Listen here, Jack Skellington," Santa announced, walking out the door and towards them. "You saved me, and Christmas as well. And for that, I'm very grateful." He put his fists to his hips sternly. "But please promise me you won't cause any more trouble! And about that suit!"

Jack had finished changing into his Santa Claus costume, complete with a fake beard that reached down near the end of his sleeves.

"Don't even think about taking over for me again!" Santa ordered.

"I just thought you could use a little help this year, Mr. Claws," Jack admitted. "You must be exhausted from all the preparations. And... I wouldn't mind a second chance to get this Christmas thing right."

"Yes, being Santa Claus can be tiring," Santa admitted after sighing out. "But let me tell you something, Jack. Seeing the happy faces of little children when they discover the presents I've brought them makes it all worthwhile, year after year after year... And you, Jack: you love to make people gasp and see them shiver with fright. What if someone tried to take that all away from you?"

Jack looked down in sadness, scratching his head with one bony finger in thought.

"We both have very important jobs to do, Jack," Santa told Jack. "Mine is to take care of Christmas, and yours is to take care of Halloween. So we each have to do the very best we can. After all, you're the face of Halloween; Mr Jack Skellington! The Pumpkin King! The Knight of Nightmares!" The sadness disappeared from Jack's eye holes. "And even though you're fascinated with Christmas, Jack, Halloween is your true specialty. Don't you see? Children rely on both of us to do our jobs. Halloween needs your attention, and I know Christmas needs mine. Urgently."

"You're right!" Jack agreed, looking down at his hands with determination. "I am the master of terror! And if Halloween has become too routine, all I have to do is think of something new that'll really make them scream!"

The mayor of Halloween Town then ran towards them across the town, and Vanitas wondered how the man knew they were there.

"Jack!" the Mayor called out with his happy face facing them. "Oh, Jack!" He stopped in front of them. "I've been looking for you everywhere! We must go over the plans for next Halloween! I can't do a thing without your approval!"

"So true," Jack agreed, walking towards the exit of town with the mayor following him.

"Good luck, Jack Skellington!" Santa called out at the bottom of his steps.

"Well, there he goes," Sora said, resting his hands on the back of his head.

"Yes, and I've got lots of names to check, and preparations to finish!" Santa announced.

"Am I really the only one who wanted to see what he'd be like as Santa after learning his lesson?" Vanitas asked.

"Yes," Sora, Donald, Goofy, and even Santa answered in perfect unison.

"Says more about you guys, his friends, than it does me," Vanitas muttered.

Light then appeared around Jack as he reached the center of town, surprising both him and the Mayor. The Mayor's face changed into the sad one.

"Jack, this is no time for joking!" he exclaimed.

"What's this?" Jack asked, raising a hand up. Vanitas resisted the urge to make a joke about his song with that name from the movie. "Perhaps a bit too festive for our Halloween needs."

Luckily, the off worlders already knew clearly what this meant. The Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand, so he held it in both hands and looked down at it. Light then gathered in a large, see through sphere at the end, and then the design of a crown appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. Light then shot out of Jack and his suit and up into the air, which formed a Keyhole. Sora jumped back, swung his Keyblade around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

Sora turned back to look at the others and smiled, announcing, "We better get going."

"Before you do, Sora..." Santa started. "I believe there's a friend of yours... who, if I recall correctly, was the one who told you there's no such thing as Santa Claus?"

"Oh, yeah," Sora said in thought. "He did say that."

"Be sure to give him my very best wishes," Santa told Sora.

"I will, but..." Sora said. "Do you know where I can find Riku?"

"Riku told you there was no Santa Claus?" Vanitas asked. "That dude's range of dick-atude reaches new levels."

"I cannot... but don't give up!" Santa assured Sora. "Remember, if you believe in Riku, you will find him. Just as you found me." He looked over at Vanitas. "And you will find a way to reverse what happened to you, and be reunited with those you care about. Your friends, and your family alike."

"Right!" Sora agreed.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas agreed.

"And do something about how much you cuss!" Santa told Vanitas as they turned towards the exit of town and started walking.

"No promises!" Vanitas laughed.

The others laughed with him as they walked down the road to the Gummi Ship, ready for the next part of their adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 To me, it did kind of feel like in the game, Jack learned his lesson after apparently going through the movie and just wanted a chance to be Santa for the night. I mean, he went to ask Santa for his permission instead of forcing it like he did in the movie. So, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to me that Sally tried convincing Santa to keep Jack out, even when she also made him a suit. Crappy writing?
> 
> *2 I've seen The Santa Clause movies too much at this point. I kept writing Claus as Clause while writing this chapter
> 
> *3 Yeah, this was mostly to bolster Vanitas's confidence in himself. Remember, nine year rampage, guilt over his lost friends, even with everything they've done, he's still gonna be wary on whether or not he's still a good person. This should be a good reminder that he is one
> 
> *4 I remember, when I was a real little kid, before I got obsessed with this series (seems like a lifetime ago), I watched my brother play this game, and he did this boss battle. I think that's why this is one of my favorites in the game, all these years later. The sheer diversity of the boss's attacks makes it a pretty unique battle. Makes me wish I could remember the Heartless's name
> 
> *5 Anyone whose seen a Brian Yuzna movie knows what he's talking about
> 
> I have an uncle and a friend who are obsessed to freaking high levels with the movie, to the point where I'm pretty sure if my cousins got the game, he'd steal the controller from them when they got to this world, even if he didn't know how to play. Never stopped him from doing it before
> 
> Vanitas having less visions works in my favor, because it also means there'll be less time spent having him see what the bad guys are up to. Of course, it also means he'll be as surprised as the others when something happens. Can't wait to keep that up
> 
> Unfortunately, it doesn't mean that the chapters won't still be long as fuck. I don't remember these portions of the game being so long


	14. Under the Sea... Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group once again reaches a world they know. This time, though, things are gonna play out a little different...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is gonna be one of the weirder ones to write about. In the episode of the Timeline, they actually ended up using some homemade versions of the Theater points from the versions of Days and Coded in the I.5 and II.5 remix games, so they skipped over some of the cutscenes. That works in my favor, means it won't be as long as it might have been. Don't worry. It's still... pretty long 😭 At least there are some decent moments where Vanitas breaks the 4th wall

"So are we gonna talk about it?" Sora asked in the ship as they flew through the Lanes Between.

"About what?" Vanitas asked, seeing the others suddenly turn towards him.

"You never gripped your head for a vision," Donald informed him. "That means you were never able to inform us about what was going on, and we were in the dark for a bit there."

"You're not havin' visions anymore," Goofy said. "Could that have something to do with whatever's happenin' to make you feel things again?"

"Possibly," Vanitas admitted. "My powers have been even more wonky lately 'cause of it. It might mean that some of my others will just stop working period."

"But what could that mean?" Sora asked. "If we still can't tell if this thing happening to you is a good thing or a bad thing, doesn't your powers deteriorating lean us towards 'bad'?"

"Maybe," Vanitas admitted. "I don't know. Until we actually figure out what's happening to me, we can't jump to conclusions yet. We're just gonna have to wait it out and hope for the best."

"Here's hoping," Donald said, looking from his friend to the ship's computer. "Anyway, looks like we're coming across another world we know."

They gathered around the computer and read out the map.

"Hey, Atlantica!" Sora exclaimed in excitement.

"Good thing I put the waterproof spell on things I take out of the sling now," Vanitas muttered with a slight smirk as he slipped the gun he was fiddling with in his hands back into the sling.

* * *

In a small underwater cavern with an open roof, light flared brightly, and the four appeared in the world in their magically blended forms, scaring off a group of nearby swimming fish. Goofy once again had the body of a turtle, Donald had octopus legs, and Sora and Vanitas had dolphin tails again, although Vanitas still swore his was a shark tail. They were all bare chested, but since Vanitas had taken off most of his old tattoos, he looked more alike to Sora. Now the only way to tell them apart was hair color, the scar, and his Bratva tattoo on his chest.

"Oh boy!" Donald exclaimed in excitement as he swam along the coral bottomed chamber above them. "Under the sea again!

"Uh-huh!" Goofy agreed as Sora struggled to keep himself upfloat.

"Did you really forget how to swim during that coma?" Vanitas asked.

Their attentions were drawn to the front of the cavern, which was also the road to the palace led. Their old friends, Ariel, Sebastian, and Flounder had swam into the chamber from the palace.

"Sora! Vanitas! Donald! Goofy!" Ariel greeted.

They swam towards the quartet, as Sora still did his best to stay up in the water.

"Uh... hi there!" Sora greeted awkwardly, since he was still waving his arms uncertainly.

"You forget how to swim already?" Ariel laughed as she swam around the boy.

"Looks like it," Vanitas remarked with a laugh of his own.

"Kinda, I guess," Sora agreed.

"Den you boys got to practice!" Sebastian announced, flying up next to the brunette's head. "You follow Flounder; he show you what to do."

"C'mon, Sora, you can do it!" Flounder encouraged him.

The small fish went swimming around the area, so Sora swam after him. After a good, long while of doing that, they decided Sora had relearned how to do so well enough, so Sebastian invited them to participate in the musical they had performed.

"Figures," Vanitas muttered after they agreed to join in. "They have Roxas voiced by a musician, who never sings in the game, then they have Sora and I voiced by a normal actor, and have us sing on this world. They never did think this shit through, huh?" *** _1_ ***

They went with Sebastian and the others into the Orchestra area, and floated up in the water into position with Sebastian standing in the conductor's place behind the stand and with a stick in his claw. The fish in front of him then started playing their instruments, and Vanitas winced, swearing he could feel his masculinity draining by the second. The chorus started singing "Swim this way," which helped make him feel a little better.

Sora and Ariel danced together above a large, open clam shell with two more on each side. Sebastian encouraged them the whole time as they swam up, tapped on a clam, and a manta ray clapping starfish together revealed himself. Vanitas then swam with dolphins as the chorus kept singing, and they swam up to a target of stalactites, before Sebastian let Sora know he could use magic if he couldn't reach it. So, Sora did exactly that and sent out a small projectile of magic that made the stalactites glow.

They kept going as the music kept playing, with Sebastian encouraging them all the way. Donald danced with a normal octopus, Goofy danced with Flounder. Vanitas swam up with Sora next to some bubbles, doing their own flips in the water as they popped. The chorus kept singing, giving the drummer octopus his cue, before Sora and Ariel swam to each other and floated down so they were above a large open clam, like the others.

Sebastian then swam up next to them, and joined in on dancing for the finale, which finally gave the off worlders a moment to sing along. Ariel sang one last time, and they were done, which made Vanitas sigh out in exhaustion. He felt dirty for singing something other than his own music.

"Sora, you were amazing!" Ariel praised the brunette.

The others swam up to join them above the center clam.

"Hey, I wanna sing more lines!" Donald announced.

Ariel chuckled at his enthusiasm before looking down in sadness, then swimming away a bit. The off worlders' attentions were then drawn to the side entrance as they saw King Triton swimming towards them, trident in hand. He stopped in front of them, and Sebastian swam up to face his king.

"Your Majesty!" he greeted. "We have visitors!"

"King Triton!" Sora greeted.

"How ya doing?" Vanitas greeted with a slight wave.

"I certainly hope there hasn't been a need to use that Keyblade of yours," Triton told them.

"Except for in the musical, it's actually been pretty dormant," Vanitas admitted.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "Everything's fine. Not a Heartless in sight."

Triton nodded his head with his eyes closed, grateful for that. Sebastian then swam up to Triton's head so that his attention was on him.

"Your Majesty, our guests, dey wanna sing in de musical," he explained. *** _2_ ***

"Well, that sounds like a splendid idea," Triton said. He swam closer to them and started muttering, "We may need your help, after all. You see, I'm afraid Ariel is still infatuated with the human world. A busy rehearsal schedule might be just the thing she needs to stop thinking about life up on the surface."

Sora and Vanitas turned to look at the girl who was more than a few feet away from them, floating in the water. She was still looking down, with sadness and contemplation on her face. The two boys shared a look, and they didn't even need Vanitas's telepathy to know they were both thinking, _Is that really a good idea?_

After a little while, Ariel swam back out of the rehearsal area back to that cavern outside the palace the boys had arrived in. They swam after her, and found her around the center of the chamber, still looking down in contemplation, and Sebastian with his arms on his head as he looked in worry away from her. Sora swam up to her, trying to see if he could get her attention.

"C'mon, we gotta keep rehearsing!" he told her, getting her to look at him.

"Sorry, but I don't feel like it," Ariel admitted.

She turned to the way out of the chamber and started swimming, with Sebastian watching her go.

"No, Ariel!" he called out as Flounder swam up to him.

"I've got an idea, Sebastian," Flounder announced.

"You do?" Sebastian asked.

Flounder turned towards the way out of the chamber.

"I know how to cheer Ariel up!" he announced as he swam out and away from the palace. "C'mon, follow me!"

"Eh, what the hell," Vanitas muttered as they swam after the fish.

Flounder led them all to a shipwreck that had a statue of the guy Ariel was developing feelings for, Prince Eric. He suggested they set up the statue for her, so she could at least see him, so they got to work moving the giant thing from under the many giant rocks. Luckily, since Vanitas was very strong, he was able to move all the rocks off, and they were able to carry the statue to Ariel's grotto, setting it up in the center.

The next course of action was going to get Ariel to show it to, and they found her near where the actual boat was, staring up at where the top of the surface was above her.

"Ariel!" Sora called out as the four of them swam up to her, surprising her a bit.

"We'd like you to come with us, Ariel," Goofy explained.

"Have we got something to show you!" Sora announced.

"Hopefully we didn't do this for nothing..." Vanitas muttered to himself as they started to lead her back to her grotto.

They moved aside the familiar giant rock and let Flounder lead Ariel inside her grotto first. She gasped in surprise at the sight of the statue in the center of the room, then swam towards it eagerly.

"It's a pretty cool statue, huh?" Sora asked.

"It looks like some kinda prince," Donald remarked.

"We didn't do this for nothing, right?" Vanitas asked.

"A prince!?" Ariel asked in slight excitement.

Vanitas sighed out as he felt another song coming.

Ariel swam down to where she had a candle holder set up for having three candles, but instead had a knife and a spoon in the other ones.

" _Look at this stuff_ ," Ariel said as she picked up a fork and observed it with Flounder next to her. " _Isn't it neat?_ " During her next words, she placed the fork in the other one. " _Wouldn't you say my collection's complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the girl... The girl who has everything?_ "

Sora swam around a globe to observe it as she sang, " _Look at this trove, treasures untold. How many wonders can one cavern hold?_ " Sora watched in surprise as the globe started spinning, which made Vanitas laugh.

Goofy swam up to a treasure box as she continued, " _Looking around here, you'd think, 'Sure...'_ " The box opened, revealing the gold, which made him do a flip in surprise. " _'...she's got everything'._ "

Donald observed two side by side jack-in-the-boxes as Ariel continued, " _I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty. I've got whozits and whatzits galore._ " Donald knocked on the left one, and it burst open, scaring him and making him swim away.

"You want thingamabobs?" Ariel asked, swimming up to Flounder while holding a box. She opened it to reveal many corkscrews. "I've got twenty."

Vanitas chuckled at that, but then thought, ' _Why the fuck are we doing this?_ '

" _But who cares?_ " Ariel asked, placing the closed box back down. " _No big deal._ " She swam up and spinned a bit as two bubbles popped. " _I want moooore..._ "

Sebastian watched with uncertainty as Ariel then floated down to where she had a figurine of a man and a woman dancing.

" _I wanna be where the people are_ ," she continued. " _I wanna see... wanna see 'em dancing. Walking around on those..._ "

"What do you call 'em?" Ariel asked, looking at Goofy next to her. He then flipped around to present his bottom flippers to her. "Oh, 'feet'." She playfully moved his flippers up and down as if representing walking.

Sebastian sighed out in contemplation as Ariel swam up in the center of the chamber. " _Up where they walk, up where they run... Up where they stay all day in the sun... Wandering free, wish I could be... Part of that world._ "

She held out the last word as she floated down to the statue and looked at it with a big smile.

"And there goes the masculinity," Vanitas muttered to himself.

After a few seconds, they had all floated down so they were near the ground again.

"Ariel..." Sora said, getting the redhead's attention. "We're here to help, you know."

Sebastian swam up to face him.

"Oh, no; you three stay out of it!" he told them.

"Look who's talking!" Sora remarked.

"Yeah!" Donald agreed. "You were gonna tell her dad about it!"

"What am I going to do?" Sebastian asked himself, placing both his hands on his head in worry.

"You could try talking to yourself in your head," Vanitas suggested, sarcastically.

They made their way back to the underwater coral bottomed chamber, where Sebastian eventually came back and informed them that instead of trying to figure things out, they'd try to do something productive that could maybe also help Ariel. He showed the off worlders the sheet music he had, and they read it over, a little apprehensive at what they had to do.

They gathered together, with the entire cavern was tinted in pinkish light, with Ariel resting at the bottom of the chamber, with her same expression of contemplation.

Sebastian started by using clam shells as musical instruments, the starting theme of "Under the Sea." Sora started singing before doing a front flip in the water, then Sebastian took over, swimming up to Ariel's face to try to get her attention, but she looked away. Sebastian kept singing as Donald and Goofy swam forwards while spinning, then a small group of fish swam around Ariel, making her rise up in surprise.

Sebastian sang the song name while riding on the tail of another fish before landing on the ground and posing, then Sora and Vanitas took over with their own front flips in the water, raising up their arms in excitement. Sebastian started the part comparing the surface world to the undersea world as Ariel looked between Flounder and one fish with a coral saxophone, then a dolphin swam up and did a little front flip of its own.

Some more fish kept dancing, before Sebastian sang the song name twice more, getting little backup choruses from snails, surprising Vanitas a bit. Sebastian kept singing as he jumped along the chamber to the stand at the bottom of the chamber, before Sora took over, followed by Ariel. Vanitas and Donald danced a bit with the manta ray with starfish in its hands, while Sebastian once again used empty clam shells as instruments.

Sora and Vanitas then swam around bubbles again, where they popped as the boys did flips in the water. Multiple people started singing the song name, which got choruses from the snails again. Ariel sang part of the song, finally excited again. Sebastian sang a part comparing the surface to underwater again as Sora slammed the Keyblade into a small funnel, making it spew out bubbles. Ariel then swam along the bubbles with flips of her own as she sang the next part.

Sora and Ariel then danced together, spinning around a bit as they sang the next part. Donald danced with the manta ray again before Sebastian continued the song, soon followed by Sora and Ariel as he jumped off a taller part and caught onto a jellyfish tentacle. They then all sang the song title once more before gesturing to the stand at the bottom of the chamber, where Sebastian was holding up his arms in a showman's manner.

They all then dispersed before the off worlders once again met up with Ariel and Sebastian.

"So, what do you think, Ariel?" Sebastian asked, swimming up to the redhead.

"Oh, I think it's a great song, Sebastian," Ariel admitted. "It's just... it's not what I want to see."

Sebastian gasped in shock as Ariel turned and started swimming a little away from him.

"I wanna sing about... how our two worlds can live in harmony: land and sea together!" Ariel informed the crab.

"Da Sea King would make chowder outta me if you sang a song like dat!" Sebastian announced, fear in his eyes.

Ariel stopped next to the boys and looked back at Sebastian, angrily.

"If you won't listen, then I'm not gonna sing at all," she announced.

She turned towards the exit of the chamber and started swimming away, with the boys watching her go.

"A-Ariel!" Sora announced as they swam after her. He sighed out. "I don't get it, why does Triton hate the surface world so much?"

"You're an islander, right?" Vanitas asked his friend as they swam through the water.

"Yeah," Sora said, nodding his head.

"How often did you have fish for dinner?" Vanitas asked.

Sora winced.

"Okay, I see the point," he admitted.

They followed Ariel up to the top of the water, where she watched the prince she had feelings for from afar. She then watched as the man's pendant fell out of his pocket and floated between some rocks. She reached for it desperately, but her arm couldn't get past the rocks.

"Don't worry," Vanitas announced, feeling a surge coming. "I got this."

He held out his hand, and used his telekinesis to make the pendant fly in. The others cheered as he laughed triumphantly with them.

"What do you know?" Vanitas asked, holding his arms out to the sides. "A power flare happened, and no one got..."

Then his telekinesis burst out of his right hand in a big surge, sending a huge wave towards the shore not too far and covering the beach in water. Vanitas watched it go with wide eyes, then looked at his equally wide eyed friends.

"Down," Vanitas announced. "Now."

They quickly swam back under the water, then decided to go back to Ariel's grotto. Vanitas handed over the pendant, and she observed it with a big smile on her face.

"This is great, guys," Ariel told them. "I know he'll be happy to have this back."

"And just who is this 'he'?" Triton's voice asked from behind them, making them all jump.

They turned back to look at Triton, who looked plenty angry.

"Daddy!" Ariel exclaimed in shock.

"Ariel, you know how dangerous humans are!" Triton announced.

"You don't even know him!" Ariel remarked, turning to face the statue of the prince again. "Oh, Daddy, you've told me that you don't trust humans." She turned to face her father again. "But they can't _all_ be as bad as you say. And I'm... well, I'm going to prove it to you."

"So help me, Ariel, I _am_ going to get through to you," Triton said, holding his trident in his hands. It glowed as he held it up. "And if this is the only way, so be it!"

Ariel held out her arm to try to stop Triton, but he pointed his trident right at the statue and shot out a beam. The statue exploded, and Donald exclaimed in surprise as the head flew past him. Ariel looked at her dad in shock and hurt before she swam past him and out of the grotto. Sebastian and Flounder followed after her, soon followed by Sora, Vanitas, Donald, and Goofy.

The off worlders somehow ended up trailing behind pretty far, so by the time they reached the coral bottomed chamber, Ariel was already there with Sebastian and Flounder, but so was Ursula, and her eels, Flotsam and Jetsam!

"Sora, V, please!" Sebastian called out as they reached the chamber. "You got to stop her, mon!"

They swam past Sebastian and up into the water, looking down at Ursula.

"Wait!" Sora called out.

"Stop, bitch!" Vanitas yelled.

Ursula laughed and made an underwater tornado surround her and Ariel. Sora and Vanitas tried to charge in to help Ariel, but the winds pushed them back. They managed to watch through the tornado as a light appeared in Ariel's neck, then flying out of her mouth. She grabbed her neck in surprise as the light flew into the eager Ursula's snail shell, making Sebastian and Flounder gasp in shock.

As the tornado raged, Ariel's body changed, replacing her tail with legs, but also putting some robes over her body for modesty. The tornado faded after a few seconds, and they were able to get closer to Ariel as she flailed around trying to breathe.

"Oh, no!" Sora realized with the group. "She can't breathe like that!"

Sora and Vanitas took her hands and started swimming up to the surface, with Donald and Goofy following behind quickly, and Ursula laughing wickedly behind them.

They managed to get Ariel up above the water, and rested her against the beach from earlier, where she fell asleep. Prince Eric walked along the beach and found her, and they watched as he helped her wake up and stand. Naturally, Ariel did stumble a bit as she stood up for the first time ever. She gave Eric his pendant, and he started leading the stumbling Ariel across the beach, towards... wherever he was staying.

"Kinda wish we could see the scenes where she spent time on the surface world in person," Vanitas admitted with a smirk, remembering that part of the movie.

They talked over with Sebastian and Flounder, and the two of them decided to watch over Ariel during the apparent three days she had for Ursula's spell, while the rest of them went searching for the sea bitch herself (Vanitas's words).

After two days of searching, they met back up with the fish above water as Ariel and Eric went boat paddling not too far from the beach.

"Hey!" Sora greeted Flounder. "Where's Sebastian?"

"Oh...um...well..." Flounder stuttered out. "King Triton wanted him at the palace."

"I wonder if its about Ariel," Goofy commented.

"Possibly," Vanitas said. "I mean, his daughter's been missing for two days. Any father would be worried about that."

"If King Triton finds out what happened, we're in hot water," Sora remarked. "Especially since we kept it a secret."

"So we get another guy pissed off at us," Vanitas said, sarcastically. "Like we haven't had that happen before."

"What about Ursula?" Flounder asked.

"She disappeared," Donald explained.

"Well, how's Ariel doing?" Sora asked. "She's only got until sunset tomorrow, right?"

Flounder looked towards the boat and announced, "Hey, look!"

They all looked towards where the boat was to see Eric and Ariel leaning together closer and closer. Sora then leaped up and covered Flounder's eyes, quickly.

"I can't see!" Flounder announced.

"That's the point, kid," Vanitas laughed.

On the boat, Ariel and Eric got closer and closer, but then the boat rocked back and forth, causing them to stumble back towards the front of the boat. Ariel grabbed Eric as they fell, and Vanitas was able to see the boat rocking was caused by Flotsam and Jetsam.

"Son of a bitch," Vanitas remarked, pointing towards the two eels. "She's not even making this a fair deal."

"They're okay!" Flounder exclaimed in relief.

"Man... they were so close," Sora muttered in sadness.

"Well, I think we oughta get back to lookin' for Ursula," Goofy suggested.

"Yeah, good idea," Sora agreed.

They went back under, and continued searching for most of the day again. After finding nothing once again, they swam back up over the water not too long before sunset.

"No sign of Ursula anywhere..." Sora remarked.

"You'd figure she left behind a clue or two of where she went," Vanitas commented.

"You said it," Goofy agreed. "I wonder where that sea witch coulda gone."

Donald trailed off as he saw Ariel crying near the water, with Flounder trying to console her. They swam over towards the fish, who turned towards them with worry on his face.

"Ariel's been crying for a long time," Flounder explained.

They were all then drawn to down the beach, where Eric was walking along the sand with a dark haired woman. What drew their attentions was that the woman was singing in Ariel's voice, and Eric's eyes were glazed over, as if he was in a trance. After watching in confusion for a second, they could see the snail shell around the woman's neck.

"It's Ursula!" Flounder announced. "She... she must have turned herself into that girl!"

"Okay, that's it!" Sora announced, floating up to waist level.

His Keyblade appeared in his hand, and he pointed it at the shell around Ursula's neck. A beam shot out, which knocked the shell off of the woman, making her jump in surprise. It shattered on the ground, and the light from before flew out and back into Ariel. She stood up and breathed out in relief as the glaze disappeared from Eric's eyes.

The two of them then embraced, with Eric figuring out that Ariel had saved him before, but then Ursula popped up, back in her natural form. Even though the sun hadn't completely set yet, she announced that they were too late as she tackled Ariel back into the water.

The off worlders chased Ursula back down under the water as she dragged Ariel down near the shipwreck.

"Stop!" Sora called out as they got closer.

Ursula stopped as the others floated down behind her.

"Stay out of this, you fools!" Ursula snapped at them. She held out the glowing contract to them with one of her tentacles. "Triton's precious little daughter signed a contract!"

Vanitas held a monocle up to his eye as he read over the contract.

"Now, dearie..." Ursula said, looking down at Ariel. "...let's see how beautiful you are when I'm through with you!"

"That contract's no good!" Sora exclaimed.

"Actually, it kind of is," Vanitas said. "There's nothing in there that says she couldn't cheat to make sure Ariel didn't manage to kiss the dude in three days. Fuck, she should have gotten a lawyer to look over this thing..."

"Let her go!" Triton's voice announced behind them.

"Excuse me!?" Ursula exclaimed, confused.

A beam shot past them and into the contract, forcing the woman against a large rock behind her. But somehow, both the contract and Ursula were fine.

"Now, now, even the great King Triton can't go around breaking binding contracts," Ursula reprimanded with a smile. "Why it just wouldn't do, would it?"

She swam up to Triton, looking at him with a smile.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some loose ends to tie up," Ursula told him, before turning towards Ariel, who was being held hostage by Flotsam and Jetsam.

She raised a hand up towards Ariel in preparation.

"Wait, Ursula..." Triton said. "You win. Just promise you'll let my daughter go."

"But we had a deal," Ursula smirked. During her next words, she turned towards Triton and held up the contract. "Unless, of course, you're offering to take her place?"

"I'm afraid... I have no choice," Triton said.

Triton looked away as he pointed his glowing trident at the contract.

"Your Majesty!" Sebastian called out as a beam shot out and hit the contract.

The signature on the contract changed from Ariel to Triton, which caused Ursula to start laughing wickedly. A pink tornado surrounded Triton, making them all exclaim in surprise as he shrunk down in size. After a few seconds, he was now just like one of the small beings they found on the way to her grotto last time they were on this world. The trident was next to the pretty sad being on the ground. Ursula then picked it up and held it in both hands, excited.

"Isn't there some form of hierarchy that's supposed to prevent this from happening?" Vanitas asked. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Come to think of it, shouldn't that have happened last time?"

"At last!" Ursula exclaimed, looking at the trident in her hands with a wicked smile.

"Daddy!" Ariel exclaimed, looking down at the changed form of Triton.

Ursula laughed and pointed the trident at Triton.

"Who's the 'mighty ruler' of the seas now?" she taunted.

"You... you monster!" Ariel exclaimed. "Let him go!"

"Why are we not doing anything?" Vanitas asked his friends. "I mean, even in the original, none of us did in anything. Did the writers just decide to make us incompetent for no reason?"

A knife then suddenly slashed Ursula's arm, causing her to look up in confusion. Vanitas didn't throw any of his knives, so they all looked up in confusion. They were surprised to see Eric floating in the water above them, most likely being the one to have thrown the knife at the sea witch.

"Eric!" Ariel called out.

"How dare you!" Ursula snapped. "Pitiful, insignificant human!"

She pointed at Eric, and Flotsam and Jetsam let Ariel go before swimming up towards the man. He got the message and swam back up towards the surface as the off worlders swam between him and the eels, stopping them in their place.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed. "That's enough!"

"Ha ha!" Ursula exclaimed, releasing ink to make a growing cloud underneath her. "Now you all bow to me!"

"Not likely, bitch!" Vanitas called out as the cloud started covering everything.

As to be expected, like last time, Ursula grew in size and floated up towards the surface, while the off worlders struggled to swim through the remains of the smoke after her and Ariel. Even through the water, they could hear Ursula singing.

' _Why the fuck is_ she _even singing?_ ' Vanitas thought.

" _This witch is back to bring her wrath upon the see_ ," they heard Ursula sing. " _Triton can't be rid of me, not that easily. And like all who dare defy me, he will learn this lesson well: never toy with a girl like me._ "

The boys burst out of the water and faced Ursula.

"You got what you deserved!" Sora exclaimed, pointing up at Ursula.

"Yeah, bitch!" Vanitas agreed.

Flotsam and Jetsam then started circling them in the water, so Vanitas pulled out his axe. They then went underwater, soon followed by Sora. Getting the message, the others went under to see the eels holding onto Sora like they were ropes.

" _Flotsam and Jetsam!_ " Ursula continued as Donald, Vanitas, and Goofy surrounded Sora. As she sang, they each smacked the eels, knocking them off of Sora. " _Royal darlings, strong as the tide, sweetest poopsies, hasten to my side..._ "

"Who the fuck calls their children that?" Vanitas asked as they swam along the tornado under Ursula.

" _Right now!_ " Ursula continued. " _Mommy needs you. Crush those stupid fools, make them writhe!_ "

"I don't think so!" Sora countered as he dodged Ursula's tentacles.

The other three dodged more of Ursula's tentacles as they made their way towards Sora, who had his Keyblade drawn. The eels turned and started swimming away from Sora, so he pointed his Keyblade at the two. He shot some magic at them, which destroyed the both of them in a burst of light.

"All right!" Sora exclaimed as the others gathered near him.

"Now we can add two eels to the list of murders," Vanitas smirked.

They struggled to swim through the tornado, still hearing Ursula's insufferable singing, " _What a feeble human. No, I can't believe my eyes. Such a stubborn royal who is fighting for his prize. Without your precious mermaid, now you're crazy with revenge, I suppose I sympathize._ "

"I'm not gonna lose her!" Eric exclaimed on the boat he was on that came out of nowhere.

"Right!" Sora agreed as the four of them leaped over his head. "We're with you all the way!"

In the air, Sora shot a beam out of his Keyblade as Vanitas threw a large fireball out of his hand. Ursula held up the trident to block the attacks.

" _Flotsam and Jetsam!_ " she started singing again. During her next words, she swung the trident, which Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas dodged. " _Royal darlings, strong as the tide, sweetest poopsies, hasten to my side..._ "

During the last bit, Donald and Goofy smacked into the sea witch's face, and Vanitas smacked her with the flat of the axe. She grabbed her face in pain while the boys fell back into the water.

" _Right now!_ " Ursula continued, taking her hand off her face and smiling wickedly again. " _Mommy needs you. Smash those stupid fools, make them writhe!_ "

"Sorry, 'mommy'," Sora taunted. "Your poopsies are toast!"

"I can't believe he just fucking said that..." Vanitas laughed.

The boys ducked under the water again as Ursula swung the trident back where their heads were before.

" _This is not the end, my dears_ ," Ursula continued. " _I swear I've just begun. It's not over until Ursula has won!_ "

Sora and Vanitas leaped up out of the water and towards Ursula's head, with Sora taunting, "That's what you think!"

They flew twirled through the air before getting close enough to the trident to smack Ursula's hand with their weapons. The trident then flew through the air and stabbed into the boat, right in front of Eric, who's jaw dropped in surprise.

"No... it's not possible!" Ursula desperately denied, looking at where the trident went.

"It's over, Ursula," Sora said with nonchalant as he and Vanitas went back underwater.

Vanitas popped his head out to watch as Ursula looked down at Eric in the boat.

"That belongs to me!" Ursula announced as he pulled the trident out with both hands.

"All right, then," Eric announced. "You can have it!"

He pulled back and threw the trident like a spear. It then grew in size and gathered light, going right through Ursula.

"Damn!" Vanitas exclaimed, impressed. "Now that's how you beat a sea witch!"

He watched with his friends as more smoke flew out of Ursula, swallowing her up as she yelled out in pain, falling back and disappearing into the water.

Eventually, the sky and the water cleared, making it a calm night atmosphere, so they were able to watch as Ariel and Eric had their reunion, after Ariel revealed to him she was a mermaid.

"Wait, he didn't figure that out after all that shit we just went through?" Vanitas asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

He brushed that off and smiled with his friends as the two of them embraced in the water.

"All right!" Sora exclaimed, pumping his fist.

Eventually, they gathered back in the coral bottomed cavern where Sebastian announced he had a new idea for the big musical. The song they were gonna sing "A New Day Is Dawning," even with Vanitas still apprehensive of his singing skills.

Sebastian started his position of conductor as two other mermaids started singing as three large clams opened, revealing them and the one manta ray with the starfish in each hand. They sang about how Ariel fell in love, which led to the main shell opening, revealing Ariel, who started singing about dreams coming true, and how she owed it to everyone there. The other two mermaids suggested she introduced her friends, and Ariel did that, telling the off world quartet to take a bow.

They then swam out, singing about how Ariel managed to make her dream come true and about how they were happy that her dream came true. They finished at the main large clam shells again. Ariel then once again sang about how her dream came true and she was grateful for everyone there making it happen. The other mermaids then sang, asking Ariel to introduce the "King and his most loyal subjects," so Ariel introduced Triton, Sebastian, and Flounder.

The King then arrived in a chariot led by dolphins, using his trident to make those stalactites from before glow again. He, Sebastian, and Flounder sang about how they were happy for her, and how good happy endings were. Even Donald had to remark about how cheesy that sounded, which Vanitas heard in his head.

Ariel then called on her other friends for the musical, as the group started getting ready for the finale. They kept singing the song as Donald ended up next to one of the mermaids, Goofy ended up next one of the mermaids, Vanitas ended up next to Flounder, and Sora ended up next to Ariel as they floated down above the open giant clam shells. They all kept dancing and singing the remaining parts of the song before raising all their arms up in a finish.

Bubbles started flying up around them as the crowd... somewhere... started cheering. From left to right, they all took a bow, to show their praise. After a few seconds, the bubbles flew up to gather light, which was then surrounded by a larger bubble.

The Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand, so he held it in both hands and looked down at it. Light then gathered in a large, see through sphere at the end, and then the design of a crown appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. Light then shot out of the bubble and up into the air, which formed a Keyhole. Sora floated back, swung his Keyblade around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

Ariel swam up next to the brunette and asked, "Sora, what's happening?"

"A new pathway has opened," Sora explained.

"What?" Sebastian asked in shock. "You gonna go? Dis is good-bye?"

"I won't do it!" Donald announced, getting the crab's attention. "We'll never say good-bye!"

"That's right!" Goody agreed. "A-one, two, three, four..."

"Aw, fuck me..." Vanitas muttered to himself.

The four of them gathered together, singing, "Even though we're hittin' the road, our worlds are all connected."

"Which means..." Sora said, looking up.

"We are free to come and go," the four of them sang as they swam up.

"And sing!" Donald pointed out.

"So don't be sad, and always know, we'll always come back soon to say hello!" the four of them ended by gathering around Ariel and smiling at her, with Vanitas's not all that pained anymore.

As they made their way back towards the ship, Vanitas sighed out, hoping that they wouldn't have to sing again anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Is it really that surprising that Vanitas would also be the one to point that out?
> 
> *2 That's actually how his dialogue is spelled in the game
> 
> I actually considered actually writing through the singing and all the other stuff from the singing parts, but I decided against it. I don't have it in me to do that much ingenuity for freaking musicals, where you have to write people singing while at the same time explaining what's happening
> 
> I'll be the first to admit, this isn't my best work. Skipping over a lot of the dialogue with the songs, plus only adding parts that the group is witness to with Vanitas's powers being fucked felt like I was rushing through things a bit. Doesn't help that I just wanna get through these at this point so we can get to the Guardians of the Galaxy crossover story


	15. A New King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group comes along to a new world where they also meet another old friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, I just realized it's been a little over a year since I finished my first story, the Birth By Sleep story. Been one hell of a year, huh? Full character change and development for Vanitas, four more stories completed in the series, along with four in the MCU crossover series. Here's looking to the next year

"Why were you so against singing back there?" Sora asked Vanitas in his seat.

"Yeah, we've heard you singing a bunch while here on the ship," Goofy pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was Fall Out Boy, Green Day, death metal, and even Paramore," Vanitas told them. "Those are bands I love, and really like singing to."

"So why do you not like singing other songs?" Donald asked.

"Because that's music I don't know," Vanitas admitted, quite dramatically. "And when I sing something other than the music I love... I feel like I'm cheating on them."

"...You know," Sora said after a second. "Now that you're not determined to kill a guy, we now have a chance to see for ourselves: you're pretty weird."

"You're one to talk," Vanitas said with a smirk. "What, with wanting to travel to other worlds in a fucking _raft_."

The others laughed at that. After they left Atlantica, they flew through companionable silence throughout the Lanes Between. Naturally, things took a rough turn as they fought through Heartless and Nobody ships, but they managed to get through... mostly unscathed. After a little while, a new world came up on the ship computer, one with a large rock on top.

"Here's the next world," Donald announced. "The Pride Lands."

"Something tells me they're not talking about LGBTQ plus pride," Vanitas joked before thinking, still part of the joke, ' _Sorry, Jack, it was that easy. Like you. Okay, I'm done now..._ '

* * *

Down in a dark looking Gorge on the world, green magic flared, revealing the quartet, affected by Donald's magic to look like they belonged. Sora was a brunette cub lion with his body now matching his hair color, still wearing his necklace, though. Donald's head was on a white parrot with blue tips on his feathers, with his hat still on his head. Goofy's head was on the body of a turtle, with his hat also still on his head. Vanitas, though, was a black furred monkey with red tips along his fingers and tail. His sling was somehow still on his back, but he didn't question that. *** _1_ ***

"Hey!" Sora said. "Check us out."

"Yeah!" Donald exclaimed.

"I have a tail," Vanitas said, wincing as he shook a bit. "How the hell do you guys handle it?"

The group looked around, seeing that the area they were in was pretty dark and wicked looking.

"This place is kinda creepy, though," Sora commented.

Donald muttered his agreement, and Goofy exclaimed uneasily at something behind them. They looked behind him to see a hyena staring at them. Vanitas didn't trust the hungry look in its eyes. Looking around, they saw that more hyenas quickly surrounded them, all with hungry looks in their eyes. Vanitas sensed that the main three were called Banzai, Shenzi, and Ed. Ed laughed a wicked laugh while tapping his front paw on the ground.

"Heartless?" Sora asked in worry, looking up at the many hyenas on ledges above them.

"Incorrect," Vanitas said. "These are hyenas. Evident in African lands, and hungry as a bitch."

"I get the feelin' they might live here," Goofy remarked, worry in his voice.

"Don't mind us!" Donald announced. "Just passing through. We won't be any trouble."

"Yeah, that's right!" Sora agreed, trying to look tough. With how small he _still_ was, it didn't work.

"Don't be silly," the one Vanitas sensed was called Shenzi said. "We'd love you to stick around for lunch."

"Um... we didn't bring anything to eat," Sora said with uncertainty as Shenzi and Banzai walked around them.

Vanitas covered his face with his hand in embarrassment.

"That's not a problem!" Banzai announced with a laugh.

"Gawrsh, Sora..." Goofy said with a gulp of fear. "I think _we're_ the lunch!"

Ed laughed again while both nodding his head (or was it just shaking?) and licking his lips. Donald cried out in fear and the group separated. Vanitas pulled his machete and slashed at it when a hyena came close, scaring them away. Sora crawled along on his four legs towards the path out, and ended up stumbling on the ground, right onto his back.

"Going somewhere?" Banzai cockily asked Sora, looking down at the brunette.

The hyenas backed Donald and Goofy into a corner, with Vanitas waving his weapon at them to keep them back. Banzai then pulled his head back, ready to bite into Sora, but then the sound of a lion roaring out in the distance stopped him.

"Man, that Scar's got the worst timing," Banzai complained.

"Just let him roar," Shenzi told him.

"Nah, we better go see what he wants," Banzai reluctantly said. "Sounds like he's grumpy enough already."

Shenzi sighed out, "Fine..."

All the hyenas, including the main three, started running down the path out of the Gorge and out of sight. Sora stood back up on all fours and turned towards his friends, with Vanitas sliding his machete back into the sheath.

"I don't know what that was about, but I'm glad it's over!" Sora announced.

Donald and Goofy sighed out in agreement while looking down, as Sora walked towards them.

"Everything's harder on four legs..." Sora said in despair.

"Better start practicing!" Donald informed him.

"Isn't it just like when you used to crawl around as a kid?" Vanitas asked.

"Not exactly," Sora admitted.

"I found a trick to it," Goofy announced. "Here, lemme show ya."

After a few minutes of practice, the group started walking out of the Gorge and into a new area, which had lots of bones of varying kinds all around. That was kinda gross, but their attentions were drawn to a lioness nearby. Vanitas sensed that her name was Nala as she roared at two large Heartless with big heads, before dodging their charge attacks and running down another path to get away from them.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sora asked them.

"Heartless!?" Donald asked in surprise.

"Are we really that surprised?" Vanitas asked.

"Not really," Donald admitted.

"What do we do?" Goofy asked.

Sora and Vanitas led the way, standing in front of Nala and faced the Heartless.

"Stay back!" Sora instructed.

Sora's Keyblade appeared in his mouth, Donald's staff was in his talons, and Goofy's shield was somehow sticking to the top of his shell. Vanitas slipped a Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun with a stock out of his sling and pumped it in preparation.

Vanitas blasted one Heartless with his shotgun while Donald shot Blizzard repeatedly at the both of them. After Sora used Reflect to dodge their attacks, he jumped onto one of the Heartless' backs and started riding it, making it do shockwaves on the ground that damaged the other one. He then made it jump into the air and ram its head into the ground, destroying the head. Donald kept up his magic as Goofy spun around with his shield, causing damage, and Vanitas kept blasting his shotgun. Pretty soon, they managed to take out both of the Heartless.

"Definitely Heartless," Sora agreed as they all put away their weapons.

"Thank you," Nala said behind them. "You really saved me."

"We're just glad you're okay," Goofy told her.

"Did you see any other Heartless around here?" Sora asked her.

"Heartless..." Nala said. "Is that what they're called? I'm not sure if there are any others... I don't usually hunt outside the Pride Lands."

"Pride Lands?" Donald asked.

"So definitely not talking about that pride..." Vanitas muttered, keeping up his joke from earlier.

"Hey, do you know if a guy named Riku is there?" Sora asked as he walked closer to Nala. "Or some guys in black hoods? Or maybe this really big bully named Pete?"

The lioness shook her head, and Sora sighed out in sadness as he looked down.

"Oh, well, we might as well go take a look, anyway," he said, looking over his shoulder at his friends.

They nodded their heads in agreement.

"Wait," Nala quickly said, garnering their attentions. "The Pride Lands are dangerous. Scar and the hyenas have made things unbearable for everyone. There's no food left. They've driven off the prey. We're about to starve."

She turned away from them.

"We can handle a little danger," Sora assured her. "You just saw us beat those Heartless, didn't you?"

"I guess you're right," Nala agreed, looking at them again. "You could be just what the kingdom needs. Maybe you can help us."

"Ya mean take on this Scar guy and all those hyenas?" Goofy asked.

"Scar?" Donald asked.

"He took over when our last king, Mufasa, died," Nala explained.

"So you're saying this guy is your king," Sora assessed.

"Sounds like a fucking tyrant," Vanitas said. "Those guys suck."

"You want us to take down your king?" Sora asked Nala. She nodded her head. "Wait just a minute."

He ran towards his friends.

"We can't just go around knocking kings off their thrones," Sora muttered to them.

"When they're murderous tyrants, I think we have the okay," Vanitas pointed out.

"Plus..." Sora said, eagerness in his voice. "If they see that I'm stronger than their king, maybe they'll ask me to be their next king!"

Vanitas couldn't help it, he covered the top half of his face and started laughing uncontrollably. He nearly toppled over and had to press a hand to his knee to keep himself up as he continued laughing.

"I'd... I'd have to refuse, of course," Sora tried to save face as Vanitas kept laughing. "Still, I'd like to see the Pride Lands, so you guys don't mind lending 'em a paw, do you?"

Vanitas kept laughing as Sora turned away from them and ran up to Nala, explaining that they would help.

"Uh-oh, there he goes again..." Donald said.

"Don't worry," Vanitas said, finally catching his breath. "Pretty sure we'll be all right. They'll realize that Sora's probably not the best choice for a king."

Nala nodded her head at Sora and started running down the other path, out of the area.

"She's gonna go on ahead and tell the other lionesses," Sora told his friends as he walked up to them. "We're supposed to meet her at a place called Pride Rock."

They traversed through the area, which they figured was an elephant graveyard when they saw the giant tusked skull. They left the graveyard and ran across the barren Savannah, with many bare trees, towards the very prominent Pride Rock. Fighting Heartless along the way, they made it across the plains and reached the base of the Rock. Lionesses were asleep next to an entrance to some cave, and Nala was walking down the rock with a baboon carrying a staff.

"That's him," Nala told the baboon, Rafiki, once they met up with the quartet.

Rafiki walked up to them, and studied them intently.

"Uh... what?" Sora asked in confusion as the baboon put a hand to his chin in thought.

Rafiki then looked over the other three in the group, with Vanitas offering a slight wave. The other lionesses perked up at the sight of him observing them. Rafiki then leaned towards Nala and muttered something to her that surprised her, then made her deflate in sadness. The other lionesses then laid back on the ground in response.

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"I told Rafiki you might be able to help us force Scar and the hyenas out of the Pride Lands," Nala explained. "But he says it won't work. You see, whoever saves the Pride Lands will be our next king... and he has to have the right qualities."

"Which you do not have," Vanitas said, patting Sora on his shoulder.

"Sounds like you're not cut out for the job, Sora," Goofy agreed as Sora sighed out in disappointment.

"I'm sorry you came all this way," Nala told them.

"Hey, no... it's okay," Sora told her.

She then leaned close to whisper to them, "You'd better go before Scar finds out you're here. I'm really sorry."

' _Why don't they just get a Queen?_ ' Vanitas thought. ' _Sure, the lionesses are apparently the hunters, but women can rule, too._ '

The four of them turned towards the path out of the area of Pride Rock. They walked towards it, but then stopped in their places as Banzai, Shenzi, and Ed appeared in front of them, and some other hyenas appeared behind them. They got ready, standing in their versions of fighting stances now that they were animals.

"Hey, a snack," Banzai said, joy in his voice.

"Snack?" Shenzi asked as Ed laughed. "Nah, we got us a four course meal."

Roaring drew their attentions to the part of Pride Rock that was in front, where two lions were staring down at them.

"Look at that, here comes Scar, the king," Banzai announced.

The off worlders looked up to see the lion up there, and the one next to him was Pete changed to blend in for this world.

"And Pete!" Sora exclaimed.

Scar then expertly parkoured down the side of the Rock, landing on the ground in front of them. He walked towards the quartet as Pete tried following his example. Pete ended up stumbling and landing roughly on the ground, making the off worlders wince in embarrassment.

Pete pushed himself up onto his paws, complaining, "My back..." as he tried to save face by standing next to Scar.

"What are you doing here!?" Sora exclaimed.

"Aww, the cute li'l kitty's worried about me," Pete taunted with a baby voice.

"Dude, you don't get to taunt anyone after just falling down that roughly," Vanitas told the cat.

He smirked as Pete looked embarrassed, but then he smirked as he stared past them. Vanitas and Sora looked over their shoulders to see Donald and Goofy now surrounded by the hyenas.

"Sora!! V!!" Donald exclaimed.

"We're surrounded!" Goofy exclaimed.

Vanitas slipped his machete out of his sling again to keep them back again.

"Go on, ladies," Scar told the lionesses watching from a part of the pathway that led up. "You've got some hunting to do."

"The herds have moved on, Scar," Nala snapped at him. "We can't hunt in a land with no prey."

"No prey?" Scar asked, looking and gesturing towards the quartet. "Then what do you call this?"

"We're not prey!" Sora countered as Vanitas swung his machete at the hyenas, keeping them back from his friends.

"Oh," Scar said with interest in his voice. "Nice and fresh, too."

"Well, they're all yours, Scar," Pete informed the king before he went down another path.

Scar turned towards the quartet, and prepared to lunge at them. Nala then lunged at him, tackling him to the ground.

"Run!" Nala told them.

The four managed to dodge around the hyenas, with Vanitas scaring them away with his machete. The four of them managed to run away fast enough with the hyenas chasing them down the path back to the Savannah. Pretty soon, Nala was behind them.

"Follow me!" Nala announced as she ran past the four, leading them back towards the Savannah.

They managed to get into the Savannah again, with the hyenas somehow gone.

"I'm sorry I got you involved in this," Nala told them.

"It's no big deal," Sora assured her.

"Yeah, we get into situations like this a lot," Vanitas told her.

"Besides, Sora wouldn't be a good king," Donald added.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed. "I had to give it a try, right?"

"So you _did_ want to be king!" Goofy remarked.

"Well... you know..." Sora said, sheepishly. "Uh, Nala, isn't there anyone else who could be king?"

"There was... but he died... when he was just a cub," Nala explained. "He was the son of our last king, Mufasa. If only Simba was here..."

"Simba!?" Sora asked in surprise, with the others widening their eyes. "But Simba's just fine! He was fighting right beside us not that long ago."

"Yeah, he was pretty badass," Vanitas commented with a laugh.

"You mean Simba's alive!?" Nala asked in surprise. "But where is he?"

"That... I don't know," Sora admitted.

"Still... Simba's alive!" Nala exclaimed, relieved. "I can't believe it... Please, tell me more about him."

"Of course!" Sora agreed.

"But first, we should get away from Scar," Nala told them. "We'll go through Wildebeest Valley. He won't follow us here."

They ran across the Savannah and found themselves facing the Wildebeest Valley. However, there was a large gap between them and the actual valley. Sora looked down in worry over how deep it was. Nala then backed up a bit before leaping across the gap and landing in the Valley. The four exclaimed in amazement at the sight.

"What's wrong?" Nala called out, seeing their hesitation.

"We're never gonna make it!" Sora exclaimed.

She muttered out, "I guess Rafiki was right," which kind of annoyed Vanitas.

"What?" Sora called out.

"Never mind," Nala called out. "It's not important. Here, I'll show you how."

"Uh, Sora's kind of the only one who needs it," Vanitas called out. "Donald has wings."

"Oh, yeah," Donald remembered before he started flying over the gap and towards Nala.

"Plus," Vanitas said before he picked up Goofy in his hands.

Goofy exclaimed in surprise as Vanitas leaped across the gap and landed next to Nala and Donald. He then placed Goofy back onto the ground, who then sighed out in relief. After a little bit of explanation from Nala, Sora leaped across the gap and landed next to his friends. He then pumped his paw in victory before they kept along the path through the Wildebeest Valley.

"When Simba's father, King Mufasa, died we were told that Simba died alongside him," Nala explained as they walked down the path out of the valley.

"Who told you that?" Sora asked.

She stopped in place, and they all looked at her.

"Scar," Nala answered, as if she just figured something out.

They then all looked behind her to see Rafiki walking along the path behind them and up the part of the cliff next to them. The baboon walked up the rock and held up his arms as he stopped.

"It is time!" Rafiki announced, gesturing with his arms and holding the staff in front of all of them.

"It must be Simba!" Nala assessed in excitement. "Sora! Hurry!"

She started running down the path in front of them.

"Wait up!" Sora exclaimed.

They ran after her, going across some Wastelands and through a jungle, coming out into a pretty Oasis. Somehow, they had beaten Nala there, and found Simba standing on a small log bridge, surrounded by flying bird Heartless with fists instead of talons. The lion roared out in defiance, and the Heartless disappeared. Apparently, even they knew that he was someone not to be messed with.

"Simba!" Sora called out.

The four of them ran towards him, and he pulled out in preparation to lunge.

"I-it's me, Sora!" Sora announced as they stopped. "V, Donald, and Goofy are here, too!"

"It's us, dude!" Vanitas said, raising his arms to gesture "peace."

Vanitas gripped his head as he saw a flashback that Simba was having to all those times they called on him to fight with them against various bad guys.

"Sora! V! Donald! Goofy!" Simba exclaimed with familiarity in his joyful voice.

He lunged, but more in a playful manner, at Sora. Sora fell onto his back as Simba rubbed his nose along his body, causing the others to laugh. *** _2_ ***

"What happened to you?" Simba asked.

"It's a long story involving amnesia, comas, and I'm pretty sure some crazy ass drugs," Vanitas admitted.

The sound of people yelling in fear drew their attentions to the way out of the Oasis, back into the jungle.

"Help, Simba!" a male voice yelled. "Heeelp!"

"She's gonna eat us!" another male voice yelled.

"Timon?" Simba called out. "Pumbaa!? Something must have happened in the jungle! I have to go help my friends!"

Simba ran out into the jungle, with Sora calling after him, "Okay, we'll back you up!"

"Wait a minute..." Vanitas muttered as they followed the larger lion.

They ran out into the jungle to find, as Vanitas guessed, turned out to be Nala cornering a meerkat and a warthog back against a part of a large piece of earth. Nala pulled back to lunge at them, but then Simba lunged at her seemingly out of nowhere and tackled her to the ground. The quartet ran up to get a better view of the old friends fighting.

"Simba!" Sora called out. "Wait!"

"Stop!" Donald called out as the lions got on their hind legs and attacked each other.

"It's Nala!" Sora yelled. "Don't you recognize her?"

"Well, with how long it's been since they last saw each other," Vanitas rationalized as the two kept attacking each other.

Simba and Nala kept attacking each other, soon enough doing flips, and Nala pinned Simba to the ground. She had an angry expression on her face, but Simba's face changed to one of surprise and shock.

"Nala?" he asked.

The anger faded from Nala's face, and she climbed off Simba, backing away from him with an inquisitive expression.

"It's me, Simba!" Simba announced.

Nala's expression slowly changed from inquisitive to happy surprise.

"Simba!" she exclaimed.

The two had their own happy reunion, with Nala exclaiming in happiness, "You are alive!" as they circled each other.

"Hey!" the meerkat asked, confused. "What's goin' on here!?"

They then turned around to see the off worlders, and screamed at the sight of them. The meerkat ran to Simba and hid behind the lion's front leg.

"Don't worry," Simba assured him. "They're all friends of mine."

"So that means... nobody plans on eating anybody else for lunch, right?" the meerkat asked.

Sora, Vanitas, and Donald nodded their heads.

"Are you sure they don't wanna eat me like I'm some kinda pig!?" the warthog called out, keeping his head down and his front hooves on top as he shook in fear.

"We won't..." Sora assured him. "But, you are a pig, right?"

The warthog turned to them with an angry expression as he announced, "Call me Mr. Pig!"

This caused everyone to start laughing. Once they stopped, Simba leaned down to the meerkat, Timon.

"Could you guys excuse us for a few minutes?" he asked.

"Why am I not surprised?" Timon asked with his eyes narrowed.

They went back into the Oasis, and Timon and Pumbaa explained the situation with their home, and how they lived by the mantra, "Hakuna Matata." After a few minutes of waiting in the jungle, Timon led the line of the group back into the Oasis, as they all did the dance of shaking their head to each side.

"Hakuna!" Timon announced.

"Matata!" the others announced as they walked along the pond.

"Hakuna!" Timon announced again.

"Matata!" the others announced again.

They all then stopped when they came across Nala, walking away from Simba while looking down.

"He's not the Simba I remember," she muttered to herself as she left the Oasis. "Something about hakuna matata..."

Seeing Simba standing at the edge of the cliff, looking out below him sullenly, the group walked towards him to try to console him. But Simba said nothing as he walked past them and out of the Oasis. Worried about him, they followed him through the jungle to where another cliff top was. Somehow, it was now sometime in the night, and Simba was looking out at the stars.

They watched as Simba called out for his father, and in response clouds appeared in the sky, swirling around until they revealed the form of a ghost lion, who they guessed was Mufasa. Mufasa told Simba that he needed to take his place in the Circle of Life, and to remember who he was. After a little while, the clouds and Mufasa faded, returning the night sky to normal.

"You can all come out now," Simba calmly told them as sunrise started to appear in the distance.

The off worlders and Timon and Pumbaa complied, coming out of the trees so they were now facing their friend.

"I'm going back to face my past," Simba announced. "I could use your help."

"He really is a king..." Timon said in amazement, after his earlier disbelief by the others' claims.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas said with a nod of the head.

Together, the off worlders and Simba went back through the Wastelands, Wildebeest Valley, and across the dying Savannah, where they stood at another ledge overlooking Pride Rock. Simba exclaimed in surprise at the conditions that his old home was in.

"Wait a minute," Timon said. "We're gonna fight your uncle for _this_?"

Everyone stood behind him, ready. Even Nala, who they had run into and explained what they were doing.

"Yes, Timon," Simba informed him. "This is my home."

They didn't hesitate with the plan. Timon and Pumbaa led the hyenas away, mostly by screaming for their lives as they ran, giving the others time to sneak in. Scar looked around curiously, then gasped in surprise and fear at the sight of Simba. The current king backed up further along the line for Pride Rock as the others walked up.

"Simba..." Scar said. "You're... alive!"

"This kingdom doesn't belong to you," Simba snapped at him.

"Simba's the rightful king," Nala added.

"The choice is yours, Scar," Simba told Scar as he continued walking towards his uncle, who backed up in fear. "Either step down or fight."

"Must this always end in violence?" Scar asked in a knowing manner. He then started walking past Simba. "I'd hate to be responsible for the death of a family member, Simba..."

"I've put the past behind me," Simba announced.

"But what about your faithful subjects?" Scar knowingly asked, peeking over at the others. "Have they?"

"Simba what's he talking about?" Nala asked.

"Go on," Scar said, walking behind Simba with his knowing smirk, as Simba looked down in shame. "Tell them who's responsible for Mufasa's death!"

After a second, Simba admitted, "I am."

Nala gasped in surprise as Scar started walking towards Simba, making him back up towards the edge of the long and high part of the rock.

"He admits it!" Scar announced. "Murderer! If it weren't for you, Mufasa would still be alive. Do you deny it?"

"No!" Simba admitted. "But it was an accident!"

"You're in trouble again," Scar announced. "But this time, Daddy isn't here to save you. And now, everyone knows why!"

Simba lost his footing, and slipped down so he was holding onto the ledge by his paws and claws.

"Why are we not doing anything again?" Vanitas said aloud to his friends as Scar muttered to Simba. "Seriously, even without me, nothing happened. He's our friend, wouldn't we give him the benefit of the doubt?"

Their attentions were drawn to Simba lunging over the ledge and tackling Scar to the ground.

"Murderer!" Simba exclaimed. "Tell them the truth!"

"All right," Scar agreed. "All right! I did it."

"Louder!" Simba exclaimed.

"I... killed... Mufasa!" Scar announced, now with a bit of pride in his voice.

"You know, now I see why in the remake they added more to this claim," Vanitas muttered, remembering seeing both the original movie and the remake when he was a kid. "I don't think they would have really believed his word since he was being pinned down like this."

Banzai, Shenzi, and Ed then ran out from nowhere and tackled Simba off of Scar, and the king ran into the doorway into what they guessed was the sleeping area for Pride Rock.

"Simba!" Sora announced as he and Vanitas ran up to their friend, who was surrounded by the hyenas. "You get Scar! We'll handle these guys!"

"Go avenge your father," Vanitas announced, slipping out his sledgehammer.

Simba listened to them and ran towards the entrance to the Pride Rock, just as more hyenas started to surround the two. Vanitas prepared to fight, but then Timon appeared, riding on Pumbaa's back.

"'Scuse me!" Timon announced as they knocked hyenas aside to reach Sora and Vanitas. "Pardon me! Comin' through!"

The two stopped and Timon climbed off of Pumbaa's back. The two stood ready to fight, but then stopped when they saw the hyenas in front of them now looking angry. The two of them ran into the entrance of Pride Rock, chased by the hyenas, who were chased by the off worlders.

They ran into the small area inside the Rock, and stood ready with their weapons against the Banzai, Shenzi, and Ed, who were staring at Timon and Pumbaa. Sora started things by using the Magnet magic he learned not long ago to pick up two of the hyenas. Donald attacked the dogs repeatedly with Blizzard, while Goofy spun around with his shield, Sora did combo attacks, and Vanitas swung around his sledgehammer. It certainly took them a while, but after many, many blasts of Blizzard from Donald, Reflects, Magnets, and combo attacks from Sora, various shield attacks from Goofy, and lots of sledgehammer attacks from Vanitas, they managed to defeat the hyenas, with Timon and Pumbaa barely being damaged.

The three hyenas ran out of the chamber, back the way they came, as the others, including Nala, watched. Sora then turned towards them.

"Where's Simba?" he asked.

Nala looked towards a rock made staircase that led up to the top of the Rock, and everyone followed her gaze to it.

"He went up there," Nala told them.

The four off worlders ran up the rocky stairs, and all the way up onto the top of Pride Rock. There, they found Simba and Scar circling each other, waiting for the other to strike.

"Simba!" Donald exclaimed.

He started to try to fly forwards, but then Sora and Vanitas held out their hands, stopping him.

"This is his fight, Donald," Sora informed him.

They watched as Simba and Scar scratched at each others' faces with their claws, before Scar knocked Simba onto the ground. Scar then lunged at Simba, but then Simba pushed up with his paws just in time. Scar was knocked forwards, right over the edge of the rock, making Scar fall to the ground far below him, yelling all the way. Simba looked over the edge angrily as the others walked towards him a bit.

"You're okay!" Sora exclaimed in relief.

Simba looked towards them with some relief in his eyes.

"Aw, that was just a sneak preview!" Pete's voice announced.

They looked back towards the stairs they came up, anger on their faces as they watched Lion Pete walk up to join them.

"'Cause this ain't over..." Pete laughed. "Not by a long shot!"

He pointed his paw towards where Scar went over, and the murderous king's paw popped over it and grasped onto the ground. The quartet of off worlders stood ready for a fight.

"Anger and jealousy turned the king of Pride Rock into a Heartless!" Pete announced as Scar slowly climbed over the ledge. "Oh, your kingdom's gonna rise again... But this time, as the Pride Lands of Darkness!"

Scar leaped over the ledge and faced the group, anger in his face as black smoke and the now dark sky surrounded the area.

"That's what you think!" Simba announced, determination in his voice.

They got their weapons out, and charged in fast. Sora started doing combo attacks, Donald shot out Blizzard, Vanitas swung his sledgehammer, Goofy spun around attacking with his shield, and Simba spun while slashing with his claws, attacking Scar. While in the air, Scar lunged over their heads and tried attacking with his claws. But Sora dodged it with Reflect, stopping the attack as they resumed their own, with Donald blasting Thunder now instead of Blizzard.

Scar then roared up, releasing fire, which knocked Simba back and damaged him. He then lunged around the area, but Sora jumped up in the air and stopped the attack with his combos. Although, once he landed on the ground, Scar kept up the attack. Donald kept shooting out Blizzard as Scar kept jumping around the area. Once he did the final attack at Sora, who cast Reflect around himself, he was then attacked by the counter of the spell.

They attacked Scar with their various attacks a few more times before Scar kept up the lunging with fire, before he ended it on his own. Vanitas then slammed his sledgehammer right into the lion's head, forcing him to slow down. Sora then kept up his combo attacks as Donald alternated between Thunder and Blizzard. After a few more attacks, Scar retaliated with his own Thunder, which Donald flew around to dodge. It didn't always work, but he managed to keep himself from getting hurt too much.

They managed to dodge Scar's Thunder for a little while before doing their own attacks. Goofy threw his shield at Scar, which deflected off and flew towards Vanitas. Vanitas smacked it hard with his sledgehammer, knocking it back into Scar's face. It deflected off again and landed back on Goofy's shell.

Scar then floated up in the center of the area, surrounded by darkness. He then charged around through the air in circles around the area, occasionally charging at the members of the group. Vanitas managed to push Donald and Goofy out of the way of the attack as Sora cast Reflect around himself, dodging the attacks. Once that ended, Sora kept up his combo attacks, Simba kept slashing with his claws and releasing energy with roars, and Vanitas ran in to attack with his sledgehammer.

After dodging Scar's attacks, and doing some of their own against the murderous lion, Sora started a team attack with Simba that Vanitas joined in on. The three gathered in a semi circle, with the lions roaring out, somehow making rocks rise from the ground attack Scar, with Vanitas releasing fire that damaged the lion. Sora and Scar then repeatedly charged in slashing with their claws/weapons, with Vanitas attacking with his fire covered sledgehammer. Once they did that enough, the three of them gathered in a semi circle again and released energy once again, ending the attack and the fight.

The group faced Scar once more, who slowly pat his feet against the ground as he faced them. After a few seconds, darkness released from Scar, and he fell to the ground dead.

"And there's a lion," Vanitas remarked. His eyes narrowed as he looked at his friends. "Man, we're getting quite a diversity of animals on our murder list."

They then all gathered with everyone else in the kingdom at the bottom of Pride Rock. The off worlders watched with the lionesses and Timon and Pumbaa as Simba walked up the long part of the rock. Mufasa reappeared in the sky to once again assure Simba, before Simba roared out, signifying that he was the new King.

The Keyblade appeared in Sora's mouth, so he held it with his teeth as he looked right at the end as light gathered in a large, see through sphere at it. The design of a crown then appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. The Keyblade just appeared this time, possibly from Simba. Sora jumped back, catching his Keyblade in his tail, spinning it around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

"Hey, what's with the light show?" Timon asked.

"We have to say good-bye for a little while," Sora admitted.

"I'll go tell Simba," Pumbaa announced.

"Aw, he's prob'ly busy," Goofy told him. "Just tell him we'll be back soon."

"Oh, that's right... he's king now," Timon realized. "He's gonna be so busy he'll prob'ly forget about his two best buddies."

"That'll never happen," Vanitas assured them. "Trust me."

"Besides, you've always got hakuna matata, right?" Sora asked.

"Guess so..." Pumbaa admitted.

"Whaddya mean, 'Guess so'?!" Timon exclaimed. "What if he forgets to tell the carnivores who we are? One look at you, and you're a pig roast."

"That's _mister_ Pig Roast," Donald corrected him.

"Not helping," Vanitas commented.

"Same thing!" Pumbaa announced, fear in his voice. "I'm not sticking around to be anybody's pork dinner!"

He ran towards the way out of Pride Rock, back towards the Savannah.

"Pumbaa!" Timon called out.

"You can never forget your true buddies," Sora said in thought as the others stood next to him and watched Pumbaa run.

"Never," Vanitas agreed. "Now let's get going. This tail is starting to piss me off with how it keeps flying everywhere."

The other three laughed at that, before Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows.

"Hey, why couldn't you have started a Drive Form while on here?" he asked Sora. "I mean, you could have had one Keyblade in your mouth and the other with your tail. That would have looked badass." *** _3_ ***

"I don't know," Sora admitted. "I tried a couple of times. But... I just didn't."

"Guess that's something the writes decided to veto," Vanitas muttered.

The other three shrugged that off. Within minutes, the four of them started making their way back to the Gummi Ship, ready for the next part of their journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 I considered having Vanitas be a normal human but dressed like the Crocodile Hunter, since his weapons need thumbs and two hands to be able to use. But in the end, it just didn't feel right to have him be the one human, and I remembered how Rafiki used his staff with both hands, so monkey will work pretty well
> 
> *2 That's what it looked like in the cutscene
> 
> *3 That really would have been badass
> 
> And the next part will be the crossover story with Guardians of the Galaxy. Like Vanitas Mix I, and New Friend, we're gonna be taking a break from this story for a bit and take care of it in an entirely different story. I'm pretty excited for it. And as per usual, it's gonna start off how all of these other ones have started off: some member of the group's gonna end up fighting a Marvel character. But since they're meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy, it might not just be Vanitas against one of them. You'll see what I mean...


	16. A Familiar Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group goes back to Twilight Town to meet up with old friends, but then learn something bad...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we're back to II. Luckily, after this and the Battle at Hollow Bastion, things speed up in the Disney Worlds. Like, I'm pretty sure we're back to twenty minute segments covering each world from Land of Dragons to Pride Lands. Of course, gotta get through these next few chapters and Timeline episodes, first. What fun...

"I'm gonna miss those guys, too," Vanitas admitted.

"Me, too," Donald admitted. "Rocket and I got along great."

"Same with us and Peter," Sora said, gesturing to Vanitas. "He was pretty fun. Although a little part of me is wondering if we only got along so great was cause we were the only humans..."

"It's a shame about Groot, though..." Goofy said, looking down sadly.

The other three nodded their heads in agreement, but then Vanitas gripped his head as he felt a vision coming. He saw in the _Milano_ , Drax was cleaning his knives while Rocket's plant of a Groot stick rested on a table behind him. Music was playing in the background, and the Baby Groot danced along with it. But when Drax looked at him, he froze, like a kid getting his hand caught in a cookie jar.

"Oh, my god..." Vanitas chuckled. "You guys aren't gonna believe this..."

He told them about what he saw, and braced himself for the usual nosebleed as he gripped his friends' hands to show them the vision. They all ended up laughing.

"That is the cutest thing I have ever seen!" Sora exclaimed with a wide smile.

"We are definitely goin' to visit them once we're done with the Organization," Goofy announced. "I wanna see that Baby Groot!"

They continued laughing as they looked back out the window in front of them out into the Lanes Between. The flight out of that galaxy back into theirs didn't take long, especially with the gateway provided to them from the Keyhole. Pretty soon, they were back on track and moving on to their next world.

What surprised them was that they knew of this world, since they had already been here one time since they had gotten back together.

They were back at Twilight Town.

"I wonder why the gate led us back here," Sora said in thought.

"Well, we didn't really have a chance to take care of everything last time," Vanitas admitted.

"Yeah," Donald agreed. "So let's go take care of it now."

They started their descent onto the world.

* * *

They docked on the world, and Vanitas led the way once again as they walked down the hill to the Tram Common, where all the shops were. It felt nice to be back on this world. Sora even felt a strong sense of relief in his stomach, almost like... he had come home. *** _1_ ***

Of course, that feeling, and their other feelings of happiness, soon faded when they saw a short guy running down the road next to them, terror in his barely visible eyes. He wore a yellow wizard like hat with a face on it, a blue coat, green pants, dark brown gloves, and brown shoes. Somehow, his visible body was completely black, covering his eyes and mouth. Only his yellow eyes, similar to those of a Heartless, were visible. *** _2_ ***

"How come there are so many Final Fantasy people in this universe?" Vanitas muttered, furrowing his eyebrows in thought.

"H-help!" Vivi exclaimed as he ran down the road. "The Sandlot! It's Seifer! Somebody please help us!"

The quartet watched as he ran past them and towards... something.

"Sounds like we've got trouble!" Sora announced.

The other three nodded their heads in agreement.

"Let's go save those jackasses," Vanitas announced, remembering how Seifer was one of the people who treated Roxas and the other three like dirt in the digital world.

They turned towards where Vivi had came from and started running. After a little bit of running, they reached the Sandlot, where they understood what the trouble was. Seifer and his lackeys, Rai and Fuu, were on the ground, surrounded by Dusks hopping around them. Seifer weakly made an attempt to get up, but fell back on the ground.

"We'll take it from here!" Sora announced as the quartet stepped between the downed three and the Nobodies.

Sora started using a combo attack on one while Donald blasted Blizzard and Thunder, Goofy charged at one with his shield, and Vanitas swung his sledgehammer at any Dusk that came near him. After a few Reversals, and dodging attacks as the Dusks floated above the ground and slashed with their claws, they managed to finish off the first wave.

The second wave had three more Dusks appear, along with a new Nobody that Vanitas sensed was called a Berserker. He could tell it had to do with Saïx because a giant mallet taller than itself flew into its right hand, backhanded. Sora started with combo attacks against the Dusks, before casting Reflect to stop the Berserker from slamming its mallet into him. Goofy threw his shield, which damaged the Dusks, while Donald kept casting magic. Vanitas threw up an Ether for Donald before using his own hammer to knock the mallet out of the Berserker's hands.

Sora grabbed the mallet and floated up into the air, similar to how Roxas had done with Saïx's claymore. He slid towards the Nobodies, and ended up picking them up in a gravitational field. He then used the mallet to attack them repeatedly, knocking them through the air before it disappeared from his hands.

The Nobodies landed back on the ground, and Vanitas slammed his sledgehammer into the Berserker's head, knocking it down. When the remaining Dusk flew into view out of nowhere, Vanitas pulled a Browning Hi-Power handgun and fired at the Dusk, taking it out. They did only a couple more attacks before the Berserker was defeated.

The third wave ended up being three more Berserkers. This ended up being trouble from the start. The mallets appeared across the area, then flew into the Nobodies' hands, knocking aside Goofy painfully. Sora ran as two Berserkers jumped up in the air and tried slamming into him. Vanitas backflipped away as the third Berserker tried spinning and attacking him with its mallet. He fired his gun at the Nobody before it clicked empty while Sora used a combo attack against one Berserker.

Donald blasted more Blizzard and Thunder at the Nobodies, while Goofy slid around on his shield like it was a sleigh to attack. Sora cast Reflect around himself as one Berserker tried slamming into him from the air, then making it spin around clockwise in the air. That didn't make a lot of sense, but Vanitas shrugged it off as he slammed his sledgehammer across the Berserker next to him. Sora then caught one of the mallets, picked up the three Berserkers, and started the series of many swings against it.

He then landed on the ground and started up their team attack, Unity Limit. They floated into the air and started many slash attacks against one of the Berserkers as it went small to defend itself, then they lunged forwards. Then Donald floated above them and they shot out magic. Vanitas glowed red, and they all attacked with their weapons encased in fire. Then they spun around their weapons, shooting out Drive Orbs. They landed in a circle on the ground and raised their weapons, releasing energy into a bright attack that defeated the Berserkers, ending the battle.

"Impressive," a familiar to Vanitas voice announced from nowhere, making them look around in confusion.

Their attentions were drawn to a man in a black coat with his hood down, clapping for them.

"Saïx!" Vanitas exclaimed in anger. "What, me kicking your ass twice wasn't good enough for you?"

"You won by circumstance both times, once with assistance," Saïx told him before looking over them as a whole. "By the way, have you seen a man named Axel? I expect he's here somewhere."

"Like I care," Sora snapped.

He stood in his battle stance.

"You see, Axel's no longer acting in our best interest," Saïx admitted.

"Was that before or after I became friends with him?" Vanitas said.

"Both," Saïx growled out, looking at Vanitas.

Vanitas smiled with pride.

"Is he with the Organization, too?" Goofy asked.

"Yes," Saïx confirmed, so Goofy stood in his battle stance, too.

"You havin' a fight?" Donald asked.

"Not a very organized Organization," Sora commented.

"You have no idea," Vanitas admitted. "The bosses had ulterior motives, the more idiotic, bitchy, and homosexual underlings had secret agendas, and I'm pretty sure more than a few members don't even know what they're really doing."

"Don't let your guard down," Saïx told them, pointing at Sora. "Axel will stop at nothing to turn you into a Heartless."

"What?" Vanitas asked in confusion while Donald joined the others in a battle stance.

"Gee, thanks for looking out for us, mister Saïx," Sora sarcastically said. "But I'm sure we can take care of ourselves just fine."

"Glad to hear it," Saïx said. "Axel aside, it would break our hearts to hear something happened to you."

"Hearts?" Donald asked, stepping out of his battle stance. "You don't have any hearts!"

"True, we don't have hearts," Saïx admitted. He lifted off his hood, revealing his long, spiked blue hair, yellow eyes, and scar in the middle of his face. "But, we remember what it was like. That's what makes us special."

"Whaddya mean?" Goofy asked, stepping out of his battle stance as a dark corridor opened behind Saïx.

"We know very well how to injure a heart," Saïx told them. "Sora, you just keep on fighting those Heartless."

"Let's jump in after him!" Sora whisper suggested to his friends.

"How come?" Donald whispered back.

"I'm not sure, but maybe he'll lead us to the Organization's world," Sora whispered back.

"You guys need to learn the concept of whispering," Vanitas told them. "You're very loud."

"Don't be reckless," Saïx said. "Do you want to end up like Riku?"

"What!?" Sora asked in shock.

Vanitas frowned in confusion. How had Saïx learned about what happened to Riku? He was pretty sure that the silver haired boy was keeping pretty low under the radar now that he was looking like Ansem. How had the Organization found out about that?

Saïx didn't answer either question, instead bowing slightly and holding out both hands as he backed up into the dark corridor, which disappeared behind him.

"Hey, wait!" Sora called out, but the corridor was gone. He looked down in sadness. "What did he mean, end up like Riku?"

Vanitas was about to say something reassuring, but then a douche-y voice announced, "Hey, how 'bout you get out of my town now? You've caused enough trouble."

Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas looked to the right to see that Seifer, Rai, and Fuu were on their feet, staring down at them.

"How exactly is us saving your lives 'causing trouble'?" Vanitas asked with a frown. "Next time, we'll just let them have at you."

"Riku..." Sora said in worry.

"Back off before you end up with another face scar," Vanitas told Seifer as he and Donald turned towards the other two.

"C'mon, guys," Donald told them.

"Hold it!" Seifer called out.

"Make up your mind!" Donald snapped as they looked at the man.

Seifer held up what Vanitas remembered as the Struggle trophy, with a pained expression on his face as he announced, "This goes to the strongest guy in Twilight Town."

Sora pointed at himself with a shocked expression as he realized Seifer was talking about him.

"Thanks, but... we don't really need it," Sora said with a slight smile.

Seifer walked towards them quickly and shoved the trophy into Goofy's arms, much to the dog's surprise. He and his friends then walked down the road to the Tram Common, out of sight. They watched him go before hearing a familiar voice behind them.

"Oh!" Pence announced his arrival. "Sora! V!"

They turned towards the headband wearing boy, and Sora smiled.

"Pence!" Sora greeted. *** _3_ ***

"Do you know a girl named Kairi?" Pence asked.

"K-Kairi!?" Sora asked as all four of them jumped in shock. "I sure do!"

"Then you better come to the station," Pence told them, causing Sora to pump his fist and smile.

They ran after him up the hill towards the station, and Vanitas had a slight vision, where Kairi ended up going through a dark corridor with Pluto on Destiny Islands. They ended up in the same place that Vanitas saw he and Roxas had gone through twice, Bewtix and Between. Bright light appeared in the red side of the area, and they ran through, finding themselves in the Usual Spot with the Twilight Town trio staring at them in shock. It ended as they ran out in front of the Station.

"He-ey!" Hayner announced as he and Olette ran under the arch towards them.

They turned towards the other two, Goofy still holding the trophy.

"Hey, so how do you guys know Kairi?" Sora asked.

The two of them looked at each other, then at Sora, then they both looked down.

"Kairi was really here!?" Sora asked.

"Yeah," Hayner told them. "And... she said she was looking for you."

"Tell me where she is!" Sora exclaimed.

"Well..." Hayner said in thought.

They then explained how while they were talking to Kairi, a dark corridor appeared, and a tall spiked red haired man walked out and dragged Kairi back through. The boys charged at him to attack, but just went through him. Pluto just followed them through the corridor, which closed behind them. The whole time, Vanitas gripped his head as he saw that exactly that happen.

"What the hell have you done, Axel?" Vanitas muttered as he looked down.

Sora pulled out the good luck charm Kairi had given him during their last journey, and looked down at it in sadness.

"Kairi..." he said.

Goofy leaned towards Donald and Vanitas and muttered, "You said Axel. Why would he do that?" 

"I don't know," Vanitas admitted, looking down and shaking his head.

Donald took a step, but then looked down in confusion. He was a little surprised to see that there was an indent shaped like the bottom of a fist.

"Where'd this come from?" Donald asked, pointing down at it.

Vanitas and Goofy followed his finger to the indent in the ground, and the former went slightly wide eyed at it. He remembered how he had slammed his fist there in sadness due to what happened to Xion. He looked away and did his best to hide his sadness at the memory.

"Sorry," Hayner told Sora, as he and his friends kept looking down.

"Hey, it's not your fault," Sora reassured them. "C'mon, cheer up!" He looked down, then back up in sadness. "Like I can even say that..." He gestured with his hands and exclaimed, "I've gotta help Kairi!"

This caused Goofy to drop the trophy in surprise, and it fell to the ground, causing the four crystals to break off. Hayner, Olette, and Pence managed to catch the red, yellow, and green crystals before they could roll too far away.

"That was close!" Pence announced.

Sora kneeled down and picked up the blue crystal off the ground, and looked at it intently. He stood up and held it up to the sun, watching the light reflect off of it. Goofy pulled the same crystal from the orange pouch they had gotten from the King, and held it up to the light. Hayner, Pence, and Olette followed their examples and held the crystals up to the sun. Vanitas winced as he saw in his mental eye as Sora transformed into Roxas, once again showing how much the two of them were alike.

"Sora!?" Donald exclaimed as he saw that Sora was staring pretty intently.

"Sora!" Goofy exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Sora asked, looking at them. "What...?"

The two of them stared at Sora, Donald crossing his arms in irritation, and Goofy scratching his head. The dog still had the orange pouch in his other hand, which had Olette's attention. Sora then watched as the crystal in his hand glowed with bright light, then floated up in the air.

The Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand, so he held it in both hands and looked down at it. Light then gathered in a large, see through sphere at the end, and then the design of a crown appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. Light then shot out of the crystal and up into the air, which formed a Keyhole. Sora jumped back, swung his Keyblade around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

"Wh-what just happened?" Pence asked as the trio walked up to the quartet.

"A new road is open," Sora told them. "And Kairi and Riku are waiting somewhere along it."

"You'd better hurry, then," Olette suggested.

The sound of something falling to the ground, garnered their attentions. They turned towards it to see that Vanitas had passed out and landed roughly on the ground. The trio were surprised, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy kneeled down towards their friend as he suddenly gasped awake.

"You all right?" Sora asked.

"Just a sudden burst of exhaustion," Vanitas admitted, placing a hand on top of his head. "Eh, it'll pass soon."

"What do you mean a burst of exhaustion?" Pence asked.

"He kind of has a unique condition," Donald said.

"My heart is dead, so I shouldn't feel anything, but I'm suddenly feeling a lot of things," Vanitas admitted.

"V!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy exclaimed in unison.

"Sorry," Vanitas said. "Apparently I'm really truthful when I'm tired."

"How exactly can something like that happen to you?" Hayner asked.

"We're from other worlds," Vanitas admitted, then he exclaimed at his mistake.

"Yeah, we kind of figured that out," Olette admitted.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked up at the three in surprise.

"I mean, come on, giant talking animals aren't really that common around here," Olette told them.

"Yeah, I'm surprised we don't get called out for that more often," Sora admitted, looking out in thought. *** _4_ ***

"Are you guys gonna come back?" Hayner asked.

"Promise," Sora told them with a nod. "We came back this time, right?"

The two groups nodded their heads at each other in confirmation before the off-worlders made their way back to the Gummi ship, Sora almost not noticing he now had the Oathkeeper Keyblade once again, and he had learned the Limit Drive Form.

* * *

However, when they got back to the ship, Sora could only cry out in despair.

"The King, Riku, and now I've lost Kairi again, too," Sora said as he looked down.

"Don't be sad," Donald told him.

"Donald's right, you know!" Goofy told him. "Why, you're the key that connects everything!"

The dog completely missed Vanitas gesturing to him that that probably wasn't the best thing to say to him.

"So, it's all _my_ fault," Sora said.

"Gawrsh, I didn't mean that," Goofy told him. "Just do what comes natural to ya and we're sure to find 'em."

"You said it!" Donald agreed.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas added.

Sora sighed and looked up, saying, "Thanks, guys."

Their attentions were drawn to the computer as they watched saw Hollow Bastion appear on it. What was different, though, was that darkness was surrounding the castle.

"Oh, no!" Chip announced over the computer. "Hollow Bastion! It's all covered in darkness!"

"You're right, Chipper!" Dale said. "I wonder what's goin' on."

"Sora! V!" Chip announced. "You guys better hurry and check it out right away!"

They flew the ship towards Hollow Bastion, ready to find out what was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Little Roxas reference
> 
> *2 Not gonna lie, first time I saw Vivi, I thought he was a secret bad guy cause of his appearance being similar to a Shadow. My mistake 😅
> 
> *3 People have pointed out in comments that after the emotional goodbye at the beginning, it doesn't make sense for Sora to have trouble remembering Pence, even for a second. Hell, he was excited to see them again at the beginning of III
> 
> *4 I mean, come on. In Disney movies, there aren't exactly a lot of places involving talking animals. How they manage to go around freely in these games without people figuring out the truth of other worlds, I will never understand
> 
> This is another situation where I'm gonna have to go back and read my previous chapters to see what i've done so far. I don't know if I've already had Vanitas explain to them about the Organization's names being anagrams of their original names with the letter X added, or that the leader is Xehanort's Nobody. Writing the crossover stories in the middle of these stories, while they're pretty fun, can sometimes throw me off track


	17. Ansem's Computer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group teams up with their friends to search for Ansem's computer. However, this leads to quite a surprise...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Naturally, this arc is gonna take more than a few chapters. As per usual with the Hollow Bastion crew, I don't hate the idea

Like the first time they landed on the world after they woke up, they emerged from the ship onto the balcony like area, giving them a clear view of the castle. They walked towards the staircase, and stopped when a bunch of Soldiers ran up, surprising them. The Heartless then disappeared in the usual teleportations.

"Do you think..." Sora started.

"Looks like there's more Heartless now," Goofy commented.

"That's not a good sign," Vanitas said.

Donald nodded his head, but then they were surprised as multiple Dusks floated up the stairs and over the ledge, down into the blue mountains below. The mallard whined slightly at the revelation.

"Let's go check in with everyone," Sora suggested.

"I think they're at Merlin's," Goofy told them.

They went down the steps and across the marketplace. Walking up the next set of stairs, they soon found Scrooge outside the giant building with ice blocks inside again.

"Ach!" the wealthy duck exclaimed. "I was so close to recreating that flavor, too..."

They walked up to Scrooge just as he turned around.

"What, lads?" he asked them in surprise. "Leon and his friends are in the Borough. Aye, Merlin's house."

"You got it, Tennant," Vanitas said. *** _1_ ***

They continued their walk towards the stairs to the Borough, but stopped when they saw a familiar man leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. He was dressed in all black, with pants, boots, a tank top vest that was zipped up, some robe consisting of with one long sleeve on his left arm and a wrap covering his left leg, and gloves. A silver wolf emblem was on the left side of his chest, with straps coming out that rapped around his chest. There was blonde spikey hair along his head, which they recognized almost immediately, despite the fact he was looking down.

"Oh, Cloud!" Sora greeted.

"Dude, how you been?" Vanitas asked with a slight smile.

He looked up at them with his blue eyes, but then looked back down and closed his eyes.

"Watcha doing?" Donald asked.

"I'll get him," Cloud thought out loud. "This time, we settle it. Me, and the one who embodies all the darkness in me."

"Huh, I thought you looked kinda different, Cloud," Donald commented with worry in his face.

"If I do, it's his fault," Cloud admitted.

"Whose?" Sora asked.

"Sephiroth," Cloud told them. "Tell me if you see him."

"Okay," Sora said. "What's he look like?"

"Silver hair," Cloud told them. "Carries a long sword."

"You got it, man," Vanitas said.

"Well, be seeing you, Cloud," Sora said.

Sora turned away from their friend, and he looked up again.

"Be careful," Cloud warned them. He stood up straight. "He messes with your head, makes you think darkness is the only way."

"Is that what happened to you?" Vanitas asked, a worried expression on his face.

Cloud looked back down and didn't say anything, and they got the impression.

"Is something wrong?" a familiar voice asked.

The Gummi quartet looked to their left to see Aerith next to them, staring at Cloud. She walked towards them as Cloud started to walk away.

"Uhh..." Sora said with uncertainty.

Cloud stopped and faced Aerith.

"It's nothing," he told her. Aerith leaned forwards with a hum. "I don't want you involved."

Aerith stood up straight again and put a hand to her chin in thought for a second.

"You mean you don't want me there when you go away again?" she asked.

"I just..." Cloud trailed off. "Listen, even if I go far away, I'll come back."

"Do you mean it?" Aerith asked.

Cloud looked away and softly said, "Yeah."

"See?" Aerith asked. "You don't look so sure. Well, okay, I understand. Go... get things settled."

"Huh?" Cloud asked.

"No matter how far away you are..." Aerith said. "Once you find your light... I'm sure it'll lead you back here again. Right?"

"I suppose," Cloud admitted.

"So I'll stay here..." Aerith told him. "And I'll cheer for you... Okay, Cloud?"

"Okay," Cloud said, turning and walking down the stairs to the Borough.

"Wonder if he'll be okay," Aerith said aloud as Sora walked up to stare after Cloud with her.

"He'll be fine," Sora assured her. "I'm sure there's some light in him somewhere."

"You're right," Aerith agreed with a smile.

 _'What do you think?'_ Vanitas thought, which Sora, Donald, and Goofy heard in their heads. _'They dated, or are just really great friends?'_ *** _2_ ***

They couldn't really tell. Nevertheless, they brushed off those thoughts and went through the Borough into Merlin's house. There, they found Cid working on the computer (as per usual), and Yuffie standing next to him staring at it. Once the group got close enough to them, the two turned to face them.

"Hey, how you guys been?" Yuffie asked, smiling at Vanitas.

"Pretty good," Vanitas said, sharing a kiss with her. He looked at her and Cid and smiled. "We found some information. Turns out, I'm like this 'cause I was too stubborn to die."

"Sounds about right," Cid said with a slight laugh. He then gained a serious tone. "Well, anyways, you're just in time. Got some good news for ya, so get yourself over to Leon."

"What kind of news?" Sora asked.

"We found the computer Ansem was using!" Yuffie announced.

"Oh, boy!" Donald remarked.

"Since Xehanort had done his own research, we can use it to find out the full extent of what that fucker had planned," Vanitas announced.

"Hell, yeah," Cid agreed. "Should be able to get all kinds of info on the Heartless and the Organization. I mean, who knows what that prick did with the computer while we were gone?"

"And maybe something on the dark realm, too?" Sora asked. "It looks like that's where Riku and Kairi are."

"And the King," Donald added.

"You mean, where you guys're now convinced they are," Vanitas corrected him. "'Cause we haven't heard or seen anything to confirm that."

"Go see for yerselves!" Cid suggested.

"It can't hurt!" Yuffie admitted.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Where do you think Ansem's computer is?" Vanitas asked.

"You can get through it through the castle postern," Cid said.

"I know the way," Vanitas announced. "The Bailey has a door at the bottom of the steps that connects to the back passage towards the Postern, which will help us reach Ansem's study, and his computer room. Let's go."

He led the way back into the Bailey, but stopped when they heard a voice.

"Excuse me, are with the restoration committee?" a female voice behind them asked.

They turned around to see nothing for a second. Then, three small fairies flew up into their views, staring at them. Vanitas sensed their names were Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. Yuna had brown hair and wore light colored clothes, looking calm. Rikku was blonde and wore brightly colored clothes, looking cheerful. Paine wore all black and had grey hair, looking angry.

"What's Leon's gang up to?" Yuna asked.

"I don't see how..." Vanitas started, rightfully suspicious.

"They've got stuff to do over by the castle postern," Sora interrupted, nonchalantly.

Yuna turned towards her friends and pumped her fists.

"Scoop!" Rikku announced, gleeful.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Let's report," Paine told them.

"To who?" Donald asked.

"Our leader, of course!" Yuna told them, looking over her shoulder at them.

"Yeah, you know, Malefi..." Rikku started, before Paine covered her mouth.

She exclaimed with her mouth covered, while Vanitas, Donald, and Sora staring at them suspiciously, and Goofy curiously.

"Don't mind her," Paine told the boys. "I assure you, we come in peace."

Rikku nodded in agreement.

"You're kidding," Yuna told them.

"Problem?" Paine asked, releasing the blonde one. "Okay, fine. You do the talking."

She disappeared in a flash of light, and Yuna turned towards the boys.

"So sorry about this!" she said with a bow.

She disappeared in a flash of light. Rikku chuckled at them and posed, then also disappeared in a flash of light. The boys shared looks in confusion before Sora shrugged his shoulders.

They made their way through the Bailey and down the stairs, taking out Heartless along the way. They moved on through the back path, fighting even more Heartless as they went down the path, reaching the Postern. They were much closer to the castle now, right under the face of large mechanisms.

"Leon!" Sora called out as they looked around for said brunette.

"Over here!" Aerith called out nearby.

They looked around to see said woman across the circular area, waving her arm to get their attention as she stood at the top of a small set of stairs. The boys ran over to her as she walked a bit forwards. They met up around the middle of the area.

"You guys found Ansem's computer?" Sora asked.

"It really took you guys so long?" Vanitas asked. "Man, I should have stuck around to show you the room myself."

"Uh-huh," Aerith said, probably answering both questions. "The King is very interested in it."

"The King?" Donald asked.

"He's with Leon," Aerith told them.

"We get to see the King!" Donald told Goofy with eagerness in his voice.

"Hooray!" Goofy cheered.

"Nice," Vanitas commented with a smile.

"Er..." Sora said, looking from them to Aerith. "Is Riku with them?

Aerith shook her head, and he looked down before looking back up.

"Well, at least I can ask the King about him," Sora rationed. "And that computer might be able to tell us something."

 _'That might be doubtful,'_ Vanitas thought the same time Aerith said, "Good idea!"

Aerith turned to the side.

"They're right through there," she told them.

Sora followed her gaze to over the railing of the round part they were on, where the pathway led to the entrance of the castle. The boys went down the staircase in front of them and along said pathway, towards the steps down into the castle. They entered the hallway that Vanitas had grabbed his fire axe in, also the same one he fought Heartless for the first time, and almost sent said axe into Ansem's face.

Suffice it to say, being in the room brought back lots of memories for the ravenette.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked around in curiosity, but all of them looked back as they heard a sound of scattering nearby. Vanitas thought he could sense somebody he knew nearby, but brushed it off.

The ravenette led them through the hallways battling Surveillance Robots, Soldiers, and Armored Knights. A couple of hallways had caved in entrances, so they had to go other ways. Once they reached a square shaped room in it, Vanitas remembered that they were close. Fighting through the Heartless, they went down the last hallway towards the door to Ansem's study.

They entered the room to find it pretty disheveled. Bookcases with the books spilling onto the ground, broken glass of test tubes on the ground cobwebs all over the place, and Ansem's desk and chair covered in a fine layer of dust. There were still instructions on the walls about the various studies and plans that they had done, but there was also a gold framed headshot painting of Xehanort looking to the side.

"Ans... Xehanort," Sora corrected himself.

"Who the hell made that painting?" Vanitas asked. "I mean, did Xehanort have that made after the Fall, or did he make it before hand and just put it up here to spite Ansem?"

"You said this was Ansem's study, right?" Goofy asked.

"Right," Vanitas said as they walked further into the room. "There should be a hidden door that leads to the lab somewhere around here."

Vanitas started patting on the wall that he remembered should be the right one, but nothing happened.

"What, are the servers busted after a decade of inactivity?" Vanitas asked as he pat the wall in front of him.

"Hey, you!" a female voice announced.

They looked back at the still open door to see a black haired woman in a black zipped up tank top, long black skirt, black gloves, and black shoes standing there resting her hands on her hips. Vanitas sensed that her name was Tifa, and apparently, she also had a history with Cloud.

Tifa briefly looked around before she looked at the boys.

"I'm looking for somebody," she told them. "Have any of you seen a guy with spiky hair?" *** _3_ ***

Donald and Goofy looked at Sora and Vanitas, and Sora gestured to one of the spikes of his own hair.

"Spikier," Tifa said with a slight laugh.

"Cloud's hair isn't spikier than ours," Vanitas commented.

"So you have seen him," Tifa said.

"A couple of hours ago," Sora admitted.

"I'll just take a look around," Tifa announced.

She did exactly that, tapping a fist on one wall, looking under Ansem's desk, and kicking the wall that Vanitas observed earlier so hard the room shook, making the boys jump.

"Sorry to bother you," Tifa told them.

"No bother, ma'am," Sora, Donald, and Goofy said in unison as they stood up straight at attention.

"It was no bother," Vanitas told her as she started walking back to the door. " _I'm_ sorry for these guys being idiots."

Tifa chuckled slightly as the others looked only a little offended. They watched her walk out the door which swung shut behind her. Sora, Donald and Goofy sighed out as they looked down in disappointment.

"So you made it," a familiar voice said.

They jumped in surprise and looked behind them to see Leon leaning against that last wall with his arms crossed, and he definitely wasn't there before.

"Leon!" Sora greeted.

The taller brunette stood up straight and nodded his head at them. The quartet walked up to face him better.

"Isn't the King with you?" Sora asked.

Leon put a finger over his lips to gesture for him to quiet down.

"You'll see him soon enough," he promised.

"Hey!" Donald snapped.

"Here, this ought to tide you over," Leon told them.

He turned around and held his hand up in front of his neck onto the wall, and a small rectangle of light appeared. Light then surrounded most of the wall in front of them, disappearing and revealing the metal walled and floored hallway that led to the secret room.

"Oh, yeah..." Vanitas said in remembrance as the other three jumped in surprise. "I was the shorter one so chest level didn't work for me. I had to raise mine up above my forehead."

"Ansem's computer room," Leon confirmed to the boys.

They walked through the small metal hallway and onto a glass floor with a railing attached. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were in awe as they walked across the floor to the railing, and looked out in front of them.

In front of them was thousands of techincal sockets that stuck out of the walls, going low to the ground far below them, and so far out in front of them that they couldn't see where the wall ended. There were pads on the ground that served as exit ports for... something.

"Remember when Maleficent had control of the machine?" Vanitas asked his friends.

"Yeah..." Goofy said as Sora and Donald nodded their heads.

"Well..." Vanitas said, looking over the many, many sockets in the walls. "That wasn't what this room was originally built for, but I think it's where she mass produced them."

"What was this room built for?" Sora asked.

"Hell if I know," Vanitas said, turning to the right.

They walked along the floor that continued to the right, leading them into the computer room, the same room where Vanitas had witnessed Xehanort release Braig's heart with his Keyblade. The computer was under the window that gave them a big view of the room with all the sockets. Opposite of that was a large piece of equipment attached to a wall that Vanitas never learned what it was for. Opposite of the entrance was a closed set of metal doors that blocked off the elevator that led down to ground level.

Of course, Sora's primary objective was the computer.

"This is it!" he announced as he ran in front of it. The others walked up to him as he pressed a couple of keys. "Where's Kairi? Where's Riku?"

He slammed his hands down on the keys in exasperation.

"Cool it!" Vanitas ordered, grabbing his friend by the shoulder and pulling him back.

"You wanna break it?" Leon asked Sora, reprimanding him.

"Besides," Vanitas said. "I think I'm the only one here actually qualified to use this thing, being a former apprentice to Ansem the Wise, after all."

"Sorry," Sora said, placing a hand on the back of his head in embarrassment. "Guess I got a little carried away."

Goofy looked up, and exclaimed in surprise. They followed his gaze to see a small, blue furred creature hanging onto the ceiling, but then looked up at the sound. Vanitas had a slight vision as he recognized this creature.

"626?" he asked.

"V!" 626 exclaimed in excitement before he lost his grip and fell, landing right on his feet on the computer keys.

"Get offa there!" Donald exclaimed.

He jumped up onto the keyboard, and 626 jumped away, onto Donald's head, and right into Vanitas's arms.

"V!" 626 exclaimed, hugging him.

"You know him, V?" Goofy asked.

"From a long time back," Vanitas admitted, hugging 626 back. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait, then who left the portal to the Lanes Between open?"

626 pulled back and looked over at Sora, gasping in surprise.

"V?" he asked, pointing to Sora.

"That's Sora," Vanitas told him. "We don't know why."

"So-ra," 626 slowly said, pointing at Sora. He then pointed at himself and looked up at Vanitas. "Stitch."

"All right," Vanitas said with a shrug. "'Stitch' has a catchier ring to it than '626'."

"Why am I not surprised that you know this guy?" Leon asked with a slight smile.

Stitch cheered in excitement as Donald stepped on the computer keys, turning to face them. This caused an alarm to start blaring that confused the mallard.

" _Attention current user_ ," a cybernetic male voice announced from... somewhere, causing them to look around in confusion. " _This is a warning. Further misuse of this terminal will result in immediate defensive action_."

"Maybe we should've just let V handle the computer," Goofy commented.

"Who's there?" Sora asked.

" _I am the Master Control Program_ ," the voice told them. " _I oversee this system_."

"Where are you?" Sora asked.

"It's in the computer," Vanitas said. "I guess Ansem had some big security code prepared in case unauthorized dickheads like us interfered. I really shouldn't have dropped my lab coat, I had my ID in that thing. Could've prevented all this..."

Donald slowly tried walking off the keyboard, and ended up stepping on another key, making the alarm blare even more loudly.

"Donald!" everybody reprimanded, Leon even covering his face in embarrassment. When he saw that they were angry at the mallard, Stitch even joined in with his own, "Don-ald!'

"I'm sorry..." Donald said.

" _Decision gate reached_ ," the voice announced, surprising Donald. " _You are now under arrest_."

"Arrest!?" Sora exclaimed in shock.

Goofy moved to help Donald off the keyboard. Leon walked forwards a bit, and saw that a light was growing in the middle of the gears on the wall. Vanitas saw the same thing, and looked down at Stitch in his arms.

"Save yourself!" he instructed before throwing his friend towards the glass floor.

He landed on the ground and reached out one arm with a worried expression.

"V!" Stitch called out at the same time Leon exclaimed, "Run!"

Goofy had Donald in his arms, and the other three were just now noticing the bright light. The Gummi quartet winced as the light shot out at the four of them, surrounding them in blue lines of squares. Leon and Stitch watched in shock as beams shot out of the device and ran along the four, making them disappear blue line by blue line on their bodies. Pretty soon, the four of them were gone, and the light disappeared.

* * *

In a technological place deep within the computer, Sora and Vanitas winced as they woke up on the ground, then stood up. Their clothes had gotten a technological enhancement, now appearing as armor, complete with caps on their heads. They observed the changes to their wardrobes with confusion.

"Sora! V!" Donald's voice called out nearby.

They looked to their right, down a ramp like staircase to see Donald and Goofy walking up. They also had a technological enhancement to their clothes, and had their arms raised in surrender as techno-like Heartless led them up the ramp.

"Go on, show 'em who's boss!" Sora told them.

"Get the pricks," Vanitas added.

They started to walk forwards to help, but then light flared next to them, and a tall man in grey armor with red designs appeared, staring at them.

"Who're you?" Sora asked.

"I am Commander Sark," he told them.

"A Heartless Commander?" Sora asked with a smile.

Sark humphed, "Observe."

"You probably shouldn't have said that," Vanitas commented.

He was right. Sark gestured to Donald and Goofy, and the Heartless were looking at them as they exclaimed in pain, seemingly being electrocuted. The blue on their armor even changed to red as they cried out in pain.

"Okay, you're the boss!" Sora announced. "I get it."

"Couldn't have gotten the point across more clearly," Vanitas remarked as they looked down in surrended.

Sark looked at the two shorter individuals and smirked slightly.

The quartet were soon led to a small pit cell, serving as their hold for the "arrest." Looking out the window, they could see many other cells outside, along with various bits of environment all around.

"Second time this journey we've been thrown in a cell," Vanitas commented as he looked out the window with Donald and Goofy.

"I blame..." Donald started, looking up at Vanitas.

"It's on you this time," Vanitas told the duck. "You were the one fucking around on the computer."

Donald sighed out in defeat, knowing he was right.

"Man, what kind of world is this, anyway?" Sora asked them.

Donald and Goofy shook their heads, not knowing.

"We got zapped up by the laser connected to the computer," Vanitas reminded them. "We might be inside a world generated by the computer system."

"He's right," a digital male voice nearby called out. "You're inside a mainframe computer system."

They turned to see another man in grey armor with blue lines sitting and leaning against a golden terminal that was in the cell with them.

"What exactly does this 'computer system' do?" Sora asked.

"It processes data," the man told them. "This system is a copy of one created by a company called ENCOM. The original program was destroyed." He stood straight up and looked at them. "But this copy was acquired by another User."

"Ansem the Wise," Vanitas assessed.

"Yes," the man agreed as he walked towards them. "Ansem the Wise updated and customized the programs, renaming the system 'Hollow Bastion OS'. He used the system for town maintenance, and to advance his private research."

"Probably isn't a good thing that Xehanort stole his name and did his own research," Vanitas commented.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "Who knows what in this computer is Ansem's and what's Xehanort's?"

"Whatever the case," the man said. "My name is Tron. I'm a security program. But now I'm under arrest, same as you."

"Did you guys get any of that?" Sora muttered to Donald and Goofy.

"Gawrsh... maybe we should just introduce ourselves," Goofy suggested.

"I'm Sora," Sora told Tron.

"And I'm Donald," Donald said.

"I'm Vanitas," Vanitas said. "People call me V."

"Nice to meet'cha, Tron," Goofy said. "I'm Goofy."

"With that configuration, you must be Users," Tron assessed.

"Users?" Sora asked, him, Donald, and Goofy looking confused.

"This is a computer world," Vanitas reminded them. "So those of us outside of the computer, we use it, and the inhabitants of this world. That makes us Users."

"Oh..." Sora said in understanding as he, Donald, and Goofy nodded.

"You'd better get out of here quickly," Tron suggested. "Who knows what the MCP will do to you?"

"MCP?" Sora asked.

"The Master Control Program," Tron explained.

"Remember?" Vanitas asked. "The thing that arrested us?"

"It controls the whole system," Tron told them. "If you idle here, you will be de-rezzed."

"De-rezzed!?" Donald asked in shock as him, Sora, and Goofy jumped.

"So, how do we get outta here!?" Sora urgently asked.

Tron crossed his arms in thought before he gestured to the golden terminal.

"This terminal could've gotten you back to the User world," he explained.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy leaned forwards in anticipation.

"But the MCP cut the power 50 microcycles ago," Tron finished. The three of them sighed out as they looked down. "If we could bring the energy core in the canyon online, we could power it back up."

"Nothing ever can be simple and clean, eh?" Vanitas asked, crossing his arms with the security program.

"Not really," Tron admitted. "The problem is, we're stuck in this cell." He gestured to the door, which had energy shields blocking the way out, with the design of an orange Keyhole appearing randomly in the center. "We're not going anywhere unless we unlock the energy shields."

Sora thought about that for a second, before he got an idea and summoned his Keyblade. He attacked the shields, causing them to drop clusters, which absorbed into his body. Once he had gotten enough clusters, he floated up slightly and pointed his Keyblade at the shields, releasing energy provided by the clusters. The shields glowed briefly before disappearing completely. Sora dismissed the Keyblade as Tron walked up to him.

"Remarkable..." Tron said in thought. "It seems you have some unique fuctions."

"You have no idea," Vanitas commented.

"I'll go with you to the canyon," Tron told them. "You'll need someone who can interface with the energy core, right?"

"If you say so..." Sora said. "Thanks, Tron."

They went across a large gap with help from a circular transport, and found themselves in the canyon, which was where they had been captured. They went around the large place and found the a large circular part in the room with the energy core in the center. Looking up, Vanitas saw that there were slots with cube shaped power cores around the top of the pillar, with one slot empty.

"This is the energy core," Tron told them.

They needed to find the last part for the top of the energy core, which was dropped from the ceiling with many other parts. The one they needed was pinkish, and it spun around with the other ones, turning blue with the rest in some form of disguise. They only needed to run around for a few seconds before Sora used his Keyblade to attack. Once he had used a full combo on the right core, it turned pinkish again, revealing itself to them.

Sora pointed his Keyblade at the part, and gestured up. The part followed the directions of the Keyblade and slid into place in the last open port. This caused the energy core to glow brightly before the whole thing rotated down and into the floor, making the veins in the ground glow.

"Mission accomplished?" Sora asked.

"Yes," Tron confirmed. "Now... will you do something for me?"

"Sure thing," Vanitas agreed.

"You don't wanna hear what it is first?" Tron asked, surprised.

"You helped us!" Donald told him. "Now it's our turn."

"You guys really are Users," Tron commented. "Your actions are totally illogical."

"Guilty," Vanitas said with a smirk, while Sora looked at Donald and Goofy in confusion.

"Let's hurry back to the pit cell," Tron told them.

"Where's that again?" Sora asked.

"That's the sector where we met," Tron told them.

"Roger!" Sora announced.

They made their way back to the cell, and Tron kneeled down and got to work on the terminal.

"So, what did you want us to do?" Sora asked.

Tron stood up and turned to face them.

"Find my User," he instructed. "He'll give you the password to access the DTD."

"You bet!" Donald assured him.

"So, um..." Sora said with his arms crossed, confusion evident.

"DTD is the name my User gave to the dataspace," Tron told them. "Copies of all the original system programs are stored there, along with anything that's sensitive or restricted."

"Is there stuff about the Heartless, or Organization XIII?" Goofy asked.

"Hmm... Most likely," Tron said. He turned to the terminal and started working on it again. "A number of my functions were appropriated when I last took on the MCP. That's why I need the password." He stood up. "If I can get inside the DTD, I can access my original backup program and restore all my functions." He turned to face them. "Then I'll be able to put this system back the way it was before the MCP got control and changed everything. The way it was supposed to be, a free system for you: the Users."

Goofy hummed in thought.

"Gee, Tron, ain't the MCP one of those programs, too?" he asked. "Do ya know who it was who made it?"

"Actually..." Tron said in thought. "I don't know."

"Okay, we'll just have to find your User and ask 'em," Sora said. "What's their name?"

"We were just talking about him a few minutes ago," Tron told them. "My User is the user of this system: Ansem the Wise."

"Ansem?" Sora, Vanitas, Donald, and Goofy asked in surprised unison.

They each shared a look, with a collective thought in their minds; how were they supposed to get a password from a guy when said guy was missing?

All of a sudden, the screen started going slightly static, and the tabs on it started shorting out. Tron turned towards it and got back to work.

"Looks like the MCP's onto us," Tron informed them. "I'll keep this terminal up and running. You better exit the system, now!"

"Sure," Sora said. "But, Tron... We have a little problem with Ansem. See..."

"We'll get ya the password!" Donald promised.

"Okay," Tron said as he finished his work at the terminal. "You're good to go." He stood up and turned to face them. "Hurry!"

He stepped aside, and the four boys stepped in front of the terminal. Light surrounded them, and once it faded, they were gone.

* * *

Back in the computer room in Hollow Bastion, Leon worked on the computer, trying to see if there was a way he could bring the four back. Stitch watched eagerly while standing on the counter next to him, wanting to get back Vanitas. However, both of their attentions were drawn to the machine as it released a light that slowly rematerialized the four back in existence. The two of them stared in wide eyed shock as the group finished materializing.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy even jumped in excitement to being back to normal.

"We did it!" Donald announced.

"V!" Stitch exclaimed as he jumped back into Vanitas's arms.

"I hope he wasn't too much trouble," Vanitas told Leon.

"No, he was actually pretty civilized, despite freaking out with me over you guys being gone," Leon said. "But where have you guys been?"

"Well, uh..." Sora said as Leon walked towards them. "There's a... world inside this computer, where these, um, programs live, and..."

They explained the entire situation of the world within the computer to Leon, from the MCP, to Tron, to the Heartless being commanded by that Sark dude, to needing the password to access the files in Ansem's computer, but the only way to get the password was from the man himself.

"So, in other words..." Leon assessed. "Ansem's research is off limits unless we know the password."

"And it's probably changed since I left," Vanitas admitted. "Xehanort would be smart enough to cover his tracks."

"So we don't have a way to get inside," Sora said.

"We could guess, but there's only a finite number of options," Vanitas admitted.

"So that means, this is all a wild goose chase," Leon said before covering his face with his gloved right hand.

"You're chasing what, now?" a familiar voice asked.

They turned to where the glass floor outside the computer room was to see Tifa standing there, hands still resting on her hips.

"Well, well!" she announced. "A hidden room! Guess I'd better take another look around."

She started walking back towards Ansem's study room, soon followed by the quartet.

"Maybe _she's_ Cloud's girlfriend," Vanitas quipped.

Still carrying Stitch in his arms, he and his friends followed Tifa through the hallway back to Ansem's study, determination in all of them, even if for different reasons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 That is a reference to David Tennant (The 10th Doctor)'s role as Scrooge McDuck in the new adaptation of DuckTales
> 
> *2 I've seen stuff where Cloud is paired with Aerith, and some where he's paired with Tifa, stories and fanart alike. Most of the fanart was newer due to the release of FFVII, with some of the art also showing Aerith with Zack. In terms of pairings, I might go with Cloud being with Tifa, then in an eventual sequel, show them find Zack and have him with Aerith. Then again, I've also heard that apparently Cloud was quite the ladies man. I haven't figured out the full plan yet, just that I do have plans for Cloud in the future, and not just in the KH universe. You'll see...
> 
> *3 I only just now re-learned there's no "e" in "spiky." Whoops
> 
> Good to have Stitch back. He'll have a slightly bigger role than in game, becoming a member of the Restoration Committee. After all, every big group needs an adorable animal as their face, right?
> 
> Naturally, I had to change around more than a few things due to them already knowing the truth about Ansem the Wise and Xehanort, which I hope I did in a pretty good way


	18. The DTD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group figures out what the DTD is, and reunite with an old friend...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, good to have Mickey back

The group consisting of Sora, Vanitas, Donald, Goofy, and Stitch still in Vanitas's arms watched as Tifa searched through Ansem's study once again, hoping to find some remnants of something to help her find Cloud. Things ended up rattling all over the ground, pretty roughly.

"She just won't give up..." Sora commented, resting his hands on the back of his head.

"And neither will we!" Donald announced.

"C'mon, we gotta look for that password!" Goofy announced.

"Right," Sora agreed, lowering his arms. "We made a promise to Tron."

"Any clues around here we might be able to follow, V?" Goofy asked.

"None off the top of my head," Vanitas admitted, holding up Stitch with one arm and offering him a chicken leg with the other from his cooler. Stitch took it and quickly started gobbling it down. "Besides the broken glass tubes and cobwebs all over the place, the room hasn't changed much since the last time I was in here."

"What all has changed?" Sora asked.

"Well..." Vanitas said, looking down in thought. He then looked up in recognition and at the painting. "Like I said, that wasn't there before."

He pointed at the painting, and his friends followed his gaze, even Stitch who was burping after swallowing the bones of the chicken leg. The four boys (five, counting Stitch in Vanitas's arms?) walked towards it, just as Tifa finished putting the books that fell on the floor back. (At least she was nice.) She stepped in front of them and faced the painting.

"Excuse me," Tifa announced.

They watched, and Sora jumped in surprise as she lifted the painting taller than most of them up and rested it on the ground, revealing various bits of information surrounding a diorama of a Heart, along with some slightly faded words near the top. Tifa stepped up to the wall and punched it, making plaster and dust fall from the ceiling. That was all that happened, though. She turned to the boys, shrugged her shoulders, and sighed out as she went into the computer room.

"You know, maybe in hindsight, punching everything until something happens isn't a viable solution," Vanitas commented once they knew she was out of earshot.

"You're just now realizing that?" Donald asked.

Their attentions were then drawn to the diorama on the wall.

"What's this doodle?" Sora asked.

"This actually looks a little familiar," Vanitas admitted. "Wait, I think this might be the security system for the town."

"Hollow..." Donald read off. "Main... Security..." He looked up at Vanitas. "Sounds like it, V." He continued reading, "Tron... Door to..."

"Wait a second..." Vanitas muttered, eyes narrowing at the information.

"Door...to...Darkness?" Donald asked.

"Oh!" Sora gasped in realization. He pointed to each big letter as he explained. "D... T... D!"

"DTD!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed in realization.

"Looks like Master Ansem had a bit more wisdom with the door to darkness than I originally thought," Vanitas commented.

"What's up?" Leon asked as he walked out of their lab in response to their words.

"Look at this!" Sora announced. "This must be the dataspace! The DTD. See? The Door To Darkness!"

Leon walked over and observed it with them.

"What do you know," he commented.

"The son of a bitch linked made his password connected to the door to darkness," Vanitas assessed. "Clever fuck..."

"But... that still leaves the password," Leon told them, looking down at Sora.

"Say, fellas, did someone mention the Door to Darkness?" a familiar voice asked from the door.

They all turned towards the door to see Mickey standing there wearing his Organization coat with the hood up, staring at them right next to the open door.

"Your Majesty!" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed in delight at the same time Vanitas exclaimed, "Mickey!"

Mickey gestured for them to "shush," looked out the door, then shut it behind him. He started to slip off his hood as he turned to face them, then was nearly tackled by a hug from a happy Donald. Goofy then ran over and picked them both up in a hug.

"Long time no see!" Sora said with a smile as he and Vanitas watched them, while Leon walked next to the desk.

"Shh!" Mickey instructed, gaining a serious face. "The Organization might be listening!"

Sora nodded his head in agreement and placed a finger over his lips to show he understood, while Leon crossed his arms while staring at him.

"If I knew that's all it took, I would have tried that a year ago," Vanitas quipped to Leon, both of them smiling.

Goofy set Mickey and Donald back on the ground, and Donald hugged him one more time before Mickey looked around then back up at them.

"You mentioned the Door To Darkness?" he asked.

"Uh, yes, sir!" Goofy announced as he and Donald stood up straight at attention. "Ya see, we're looking for the secret password."

"Password?" Mickey asked, making Sora, Donald, and Goofy deflate slightly. "Oh, I guess you mean like a code."

"That's kind of part of the meaning of password," Vanitas commented as Leon and Stitch smiled slightly at Mickey.

"Well, the Door to Darkness can only be opened by the seven princesses," Mickey told them. "There's Snow White, Jasmine, Belle..."

"Of course..." Leno said, looking up in realization.

He turned away from them and started walking back down the hallway towards the computer. Mickey watched him go, then looked up at the boys in front of him.

"What're you tryin' to do?" Mickey asked before he looked directly at Stitch. "And who's that?"

"Stitch!" the alien announced with a wave.

"I think he's the new mascot for the restoration committee," Vanitas said with a laugh.

"Oh, boy..." Donald covered his face as Sora and Goofy laughed with the ravenette.

"Well..." Sora said, looking at Mickey and trying his best to gain a serious expression. "With that password, we can get access to Ansem's research data."

"So that means you might be able to find out where he is!" Mickey announced, joyfully.

"Ansem... the real Ansem," Sora said, once again remembering how Xehanort had stolen the real Ansem's name. "Not the one we defeated, right?"

"Yep, exactly," Mickey confirmed with a nod of the head.

"God, I hope we don't find him," Vanitas muttered, placing Stitch on the table.

He was still pissed about what his former master had done to him, with everything that had happened with Roxas and Xion.

However, his mutters weren't as quiet as he thought they were.

"You don't want to find the real Ansem?" Sora asked.

"The same guy who gave you refuge for a year when you didn't have your memories?" Donald asked.

Vanitas turned towards his friends and his eyes widened, remembering that he hadn't told them about all of that. He mentally started to prepare himself, but then it all came crashing back down on him. Ansem, Riku, losing Roxas and Xion... and he choked up. *** _1_ ***

"I... I can't..." Vanitas started to say.

"Hey," Leon announced, and Vanitas mentally thanked whatever was out there for having Leon save him from that. "Isn't Tron waiting for you guys?"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy decided they were definitely asking Vanitas about what that was later. Right now, the three looked from their shorter mouse friend to their taller human friend, realizing they had two different situations.

"Don't worry, I'm not goin' anywhere," Mickey promised them. "If those Heartless attack, I'll stand and fight with everybody here."

"Me, too!" Stitch announced, pulling out yellow and red blasters in both hands.

"Yeah... we will, too," Sora announced.

"Then let's talk more later," Mickey suggested.

"That's a promise!" Donald announced.

"Okay, 'cause there's something I've gotta ask later," Sora admitted.

"I'll see ya when you get back," Mickey told them. "Oh! One more thing. Let me give your clothes some new powers, Sora."

"Really!?" Sora asked in surprise.

"You've already learned three, what's one more?" Vanitas asked, successfully getting back to normal.

"Exactly," Mickey agreed. "You've done so much, just consider it a thank-you present."

"Thanks, Your Majesty!" Sora told him. "We're heading off to see Tron now, so wait here for us, okay?"

"I will, Sora," Mickey promised. "And remember, be careful!"

They nodded their heads, and Sora sighed out as energy flowed through him as he learned the Master Drive Form.

"Sora, V," Stitch told them. They looked over at the blue furred alien to see him holding up a Summon charm. "Frens."

Sora took the charm and saw that it had the design of a ukelele.

"Thanks, Stitch," Sora said.

"We'll be back in a bit," Vanitas promised. "Stay with Leon and Mickey. Okay."

Stitch nodded his head, and Vanitas slipped out one more chicken leg. The alien cheered as he started eating it while the others walked back towards the computer room.

The boys went to the computer and after a quick good bye to Leon and Tifa, set up the computer to take them back into the digital world. They stood in place in front of the mechanic on the wall and watched as the light gathered. Like before the light shot out at them and surrounded them in blue squares. Also like before, beams shot out and ran along the four, making them disappear blue line by blue line. Pretty soon, the four of them were gone, and the light disappeared.

* * *

The quartet once again found themselves in the pit cell, and Goofy walked up to the golden terminal as the others looked around for Tron.

"Gawrsh, I wonder where Tron is," Goofy muttered aloud.

"Don't touch that!" Donald snapped as Goofy raised his hand to the terminal.

The screen then changed, showing lots of static and random bits of information.

"Huh?" Goofy asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"Goofy!" Sora snapped.

"Guys, he didn't..." Vanitas started.

He then exclaimed in surprise as light surrounded him, Sora, and Donald, making them disappear. Goofy turned back to face them, and was surprised to see they were gone.

"Uh... I didn't do it!" he announced before light gathered around him, making him disappear.

When they could see again, they found themselves in a large, vast, open area deep in the computer realm.

"I didn't touch nothin'!" Goofy told them as they looked around in confusion.

" _Welcome to the Game Grid!_ " Sark's voice announced from above, surprising them.

"Game Grid?" Sora asked.

" _That's right_ ," Sark's voice answered. " _You've been chosen to play a few games. Lose, and you will be subject to immediate de-resolution. Win? Well, *chuckles* no one wins._ "

"Something tells me he doesn't mean Catan," Vanitas quipped. "This sounds like a Jigsaw situation."

"We're not gonna play your games!" Donald announced.

"That's what they always say..." Vanitas said, pointing to Donald.

" _You have no choice_ ," Sark told them.

"And that's always the response," Vanitas said, pointing up to where Sark's voice was originating from.

"Well, then, get on with it!" Sora announced.

Donald and Goofy disappeared to somewhere, and Sora and Vanitas were put on Light Cycle devices very similar to motorcycles. *** _2_ ***

"Man, I should get the one I had back in Traverse Town," Vanitas commented. "Or the one on Earth 616. They were both so cool."

They started riding their Cycles, and Heartless with wheeled lower halves appeared at the same time walls came up far on either side of them. Sora rammed his bike into two Blue ones, Vanitas fired an MP5K machine gun at two yellow ones, then they had to turn to the left. Sora rammed his bike into two more yellow Heartless at once, then Vanitas kicked at a nearby green one, before the barricade around it went complete. The green one rammed into another green one, and they both went crashing into a wall.

"Ha!" Vanitas exclaimed as they stopped their Cycles.

A large, purple and black Heartless similar to a living tank then appeared. It charged up, and fired out a large bit of electric energy, which they jumped out of the way to avoid. The blast flew into a nearby wall, which caused a big enough blast that a giant crack big enough to walk through appeared.

"All right!" Sora exclaimed. "It looks like we can escape through there!"

"Let's roll!" Vanitas announced as they got back on their Cycles.

They started riding towards the hole, but walls kept going up around them, which then appeared in front of the hole, forcing them to go left. More wheeled Heartless appeared, and they knocked them away before making another left turn. Sora dodged the obstacles that came in their way before throwing his Keyblade at a blue Heartless that slid up next to him.

More Heartless appeared as they got closer to the wall, so Sora and Vanitas started knocking them away and using the barriers from their Cycles to dodge their attacks, before making two right turns. Then two more, and then a left. Then a few more rights, and a few more lefts, and more than a few confusing turns. Dodging Heartless and putting up barriers could only do so much against the obstacles and attacking enemies.

After seemingly forever, they came into an open version of the giant area, but obstacles were still up as they made a final trudge towards the giant hole in the wall. They rode their Cycles towards it, then set up barriers as two more of the living cannons appeared and shot electrical orbs at them. Their barriers held, and they rode through the hole, out of the Game Grid.

Their visions were made completely white, and once they could see again, they were back in the Pit Cell with Donald and Goofy. They sighed out in exhaustion as they looked down. Sora then looked along the floor and found the unconscious form of Tron on the ground.

"Tron!" Sora exclaimed as he ran towards their friend.

The program slowly pushed himself to his feet and stumbled slightly as he looked down in confusion at Sora, who was now facing him.

"I don't understand," he said. "Why are you here?"

"We came to give you the password," Sora told him.

"Why didn't you just transmit the data?" Tron asked, looking down, putting a hand on his head, and shaking his head.

"Transmit?" Donald asked at the same time Vanitas said, "This is more fun."

Tron then stumbled forwards, and Sora and Vanitas caught him, holding him up to his feet.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sora asked.

"I'll be all right..." Tron told them, gripping their shoulders and hoisting himself to his feet. "Once we access the DTD."

They went across the Canyon, fighting Heartless along their way to the Dataspace room. This one was a large platform with a control terminal, and many large rectangular green screens surrounding them, with three in particular facing the platform. They walked up to the control terminal, and a keyboard appeared as Tron walked into place in front of it.

"All right, what's the password?" he asked.

"Well..." Donald said. "Belle, Snow White..."

"Aurora, Alice..." Vanitas continued.

"Jasmine, Cinderella..." Goofy continued.

Everyone looked at Sora, waiting for him.

"Kairi," Sora finished.

"Kairi, got it," Tron said, before going back to work.

This caused the room to shake slightly. The screen in front of them glowed a light that travelled up and into the green cutoff far above them.

"That did it!" Tron happily announced.

An alarm went off, making them jump and look around.

" _Now switching DTD over from hibernation to active mode_ ," a female electronic voice above them announced. " _This process will take some time. Please enjoy a game while the process is running._ "

"Oh, no!" Tron exclaimed as he tried going back to work at the control terminal.

"Not another game!" Sora complained.

"No, it's the DTD's final security routine," Tron told them. "This isn't a game. Stay focused!"

They stood back and pulled out their weapons as the Heartless sigil appeared on the three main screens, and Heartless subsequently appeared in front of each one.

Sora started out with a combo to one of the yellow and grey Heartless in front of them, while Donald blasted Thunder and Blizzard, Goofy threw his shield, Tron threw his power disk, and Vanitas fired a Glock 30 handgun. As they defeated Heartless, the enemies dropped Clusters which were absorbed into Sora. He went up to one of the back screens and pointed his Keyblade at it. Light shot out, and the sigil disappeared from the screen.

Sora then got smart and cast Magnet to pick up the Heartless, then shot out Thunder to destroy them, reminding Vanitas of Roxas again. He used this to get lots of Clusters at once, which gave him the chance to stop the center monitor, and the last one on the side, stopping all of them completely.

Once the Heartless and the sigils on the screens were gone, Tron walked up to the control terminal once again. He placed his hand right on the hand scanner that had appeared, and light surged into his arm. He looked down at his arms and smiled.

"I'm as good as new!" Tron announced, turning to face them. "All my functions have been restored!"

"Oh, boy!" Donald cheered.

An alarm started blaring again, and the group scattered as a red beam shot out in front of them.

" _Finally,_ " the MCP's voice announced above them. " _I have full access to the DTD. My takeover of the system is now complete. I might have anticipated such a simple password._ "

"Yet, you didn't," Vanitas remarked. "So don't go all acting high and mighty, prick."

" _What's this?_ " the MCP's voice asked, in the stereotypical super villain way. " _An emergency destruct program for the town. Let's see how it performs._ "

"No!" Vanitas and Tron yelled at the same time.

Tron placed his hand on the scanner once again, and sent some of the light back in, quickly going back to work on the virtual keyboard.

" _Program!_ " the MCP's voice snapped once he was done. " _You changed the password!_ "

"There, that should buy us some time," Tron said, looking over his shoulder at the others.

"Tron!" Sora said as they stood up and joined Tron in front of the control terminal again. "Tell us what's going on!"

"The MCP's loading a hostile program into the I/O Tower," Tron told them.

"What do we do?" Donald asked.

"We've got to protect the User town," Tron announced.

"Then let's go destroy this hostile program," Vanitas announced, taking out his sledgehammer as the others nodded their heads in agreement.

"Let's head to the Tower!" Tron instructed with fist gripped in determination.

Fighting Heartless along the way, the group made it to the I/O Tower and went through the hallways into a large chamber that Vanitas just knew a big fight was gonna be taking place.

"Nice job at subtlety, gamemakers," Vanitas muttered as they went through the chamber and up the stairs into another hallway.

They exited the hallway into the communications room, finding a circular room with a pad in the center and black light originating up from it. Goofy and Donald's attentions were drawn to a nearby golden terminal completely identical to the one in the pit cell while the others looked at the pad and the dark light.

"It must be total chaos outside," Tron remarked.

"I think there's gonna be trouble _inside_ , too..." Donald informed them.

The humans and the program followed their gazes to see the terminal next to them.

"Wait," Vanitas said. "Where's that program?"

They looked at each other in realization and ran back out of the communications room into the chamber outside. Their attentions were drawn up at the Hostile Program as it floated down slightly. Naturally, they were put off by the heavily armored center with two floating arms below that looked ready to do damage, and the lower bottom under the armored center with what looked like four spider like legs.

" _I'm disappointed in you, Program,_ " the MCP's voice came through the Hostile Program to reprimand Tron. " _Why do you insist on allying with these selfish Users?_ "

"Because I want to help them," Tron told the MCP. "Something written into my code commands me to do what is right."

" _Really?_ " the MCP asked. " _And what command would that be?_ "

Tron trailed off a bit.

"I can't really say for sure," he admitted as he looked at Sora.

"Friends, they help each other," Sora told him. "That's all."

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas agreed as he, Donald, and Goofy nodded their heads in agreement.

"Uh, oh!" Sora said, looking up at the Hostile Program. "Look out!"

The Program shot beams out of the spikes on its armor, which made walls surround them in a circular part of the chamber. The Hostile Program floated down to their level as they took out their weapons in preparation. *** _3_ ***

The Hostile Program floated back and shot out bits of energy that flew towards them. Dodging the energy, Sora slid in and started attacking with a combo, while Goofy threw his shield, and Vanitas slammed his sledgehammer into the sides of the boss. Once the energy got close enough, Sora blocked with Reflect, while Donald blasted magic and Tron threw his disc.

With each attack they did on the Hostile Program, it dropped Clusters. Once Sora absorbed enough, he was able to send out a code that froze the Program in place. They got in close and Sora did multiple combos, Goofy slid around on his shield like it was a sleigh, Vanitas slammed his sledgehammer into the enemy, Donald whacked it with his staff, and Tron kept throwing his shield. After a few seconds of attacking, the Freeze wore off, and the Program burst out, with some of the armor broken.

The Program retaliated by shooting out more of the homing energy, one of which exploded on Goofy, making him cry out in pain. They did their best to dodge the energy as they attacked and Sora picked up more Clusters. He froze the Program in place again, and Vanitas immediately slammed his sledgehammer into it as Sora tried igniting Master Form.

Unfortunately, Anti Form ignited instead, making Donald, Goofy, and Tron disappear. *** _4_ ***

At least Sora was able to do some pretty wicked attacks with the Form and run out some of the timer before the Program broke out of Freeze, with some more of its armor broken. Sora did his best to keep up his attacks with Vanitas, until the Program sent out the energy again. They did try to keep attacking, but the energy knocked Sora back a bit, damn near killing him. Just as the Program shot some laser up, the timer ran out, reverting him back to normal and bringing the others back.

Sora cast Cure just as the laser came down with two more in an attack. Luckily Donald was able to cast a Reflect spell of his own that protected them. Having gained enough Clusters back in Anti Form, Sora used Freeze on the Program once again, locking it in place. They kept up their attacks, which included Donald and Goofy jumping up and attacking it with their weapons, and Vanitas attacking with sledgehammer in one hand and baseball bat in the other.

"I should really make Dead Rising-esque Combo Weapons," Vanitas commented. "I think the Defiler would come in handy during this!" *** _5_ ***

He had to yell the last bit while backing up as the Program burst out of the Freeze, with some more of the armor breaking. The Program shot lasers out of its hands briefly before it started flying around the perimeter of the area, Vanitas dropping his weapons and pulling Donald and Goofy out of its path. Luckily, with everyone doing ranged attacks, they were able to attack it enough to get Sora to pick up Clusters. Once again, he used Freeze to lock it in place.

They attacked the Program even more, until it burst out of Freeze, with some more of the armor breaking off. The group scattered and dodged as the Program flew around again and then shot out lasers again. Sora and Vanitas got in close and kept swinging their weapons at the Program, before it started attacking with lasers again.

Sora then started a team attack with Tron, and as per usual, Donald and Goofy disappeared while Vanitas stood back this time. Tron got some programs ready, then Sora raised his Keyblade, releasing energy and diamond shaped pieces to attack. They launched out the diamonds for a bit, but the Program floated up into the air just out of reach. They then floated back to back, Tron finished some process, and Sora slammed his free hand onto a pad, sending the diamonds up in an attack, and finishing off the Program.

The Program fell to the ground, sans armor and arms. Light then gathered on it, and they covered their eyes as the light grew more, then the Program exploded.

With the threat gone, the group re-entered the comminucations room, and Tron went to work on the terminal.

"I really owe you one," Tron admitted after a little while. "With all my functions up and running, I think I've got a chance of getting system control away from the MCP. Now, I'd better get to work. It's what my User would want."

"What Ansem would want..." Sora said in thought.

He looked over his shoulder at Donald and Goofy, and they nodded in encouragement.

"Listen, Tron," Sora said. "We didn't get the password from Ansem. We just sort of found it, back in the User world. By accident."

"Truth is, Ansem's been missing for quite some time," Vanitas told him. "The only one we've seen that goes by the moniker is an imposter who stole his name."

"And the imposter..." Sora said. "He was our enemy..." Tron stood up. "I mean... he still is... I guess."

"Well, actually..." Tron said. "Imposter or not, Ansem is my enemy, too."

That surprised them.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Ansem took ENCOM's original system and customized it for his own use," Tron explained. "I was part of the original system, and Ansem modified me, too. So that makes him my User." The others nodded to show they understood. "But Ansem is also the one who brought back the MCP... The Ansem I first knew wouldn't do that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"That might have been the imposter, Xehanort," Sora suggested. He frowned. "Maybe he took over things and customized it for his own plans."

"Yet... he also kept the town's defenses up," Vanitas said. "Now I don't understand this guy."

"I don't... understand it either," Tron admitted. "But I think Users, like you, are going to be the ones who will finally figure it out. You have the ability to take illogical routes and still arrive at the answers you seek."

"That is surprisingly accurate," Vanitas commented.

"Now go, before the MCP starts acting up again!" Tron instructed.

Tron stood directly in front of the terminal facing them, while they stood to face him.

"Any data you need from the DTD can be accessed directly through my User's terminal," he told them. "I'll keep a dedicated access channel open for you. I changed the password, so you won't have to worry about the MCP for a while."

"Access channel?" Sora asked in confusion.

"I knew you'd ask," Tron admitted with a slight laugh. He pressed a button on a terminal. "It's a very important link between our worlds. It's how we stay connected." Light started to grow in front of them. "You... my friends... are the new password."

Sora smiled at their friend.

"Thanks, Tron!" he said. "Take care!"

"You, too!" Tron told them. "And give my best to the Users!"

Light finished gathering, which glowed brightly again, and they disappeared.

* * *

They reappeared back in the computer room, with Tifa gone, and Leon and Stitch turning to greet them.

"Well, that's that!" Sora announced as they walked up to their friends.

"Look," Leon told them with a smile while pointing to the computer.

They saw on the screen that it had turned orange with pixilated versions of the four of them, with the words "Thank You!" underneath. The four of them all smiled at the sight.

"Tron... hang in there," Sora muttered.

"I'm gonna miss that guy," Vanitas admitted.

"So, where do we start?" Leon asked, while Stitch jumped up onto Vanitas's shoulders.

"I know!" Sora announced. "Let's access the DTD!"

They stepped to the side, and Leon went to work on the computer. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked around, seeing that both Tifa and Mickey were nowhere in sight.

"The King's checking the situation in town," he explained. "He'll be back soon, so don't worry." He looked over his shoulder at them. "Hey, look, it's asking for a password."

"That's easy," Goofy said. "It's..."

"Sora!" Sora answered, jumping up quickly.

Leon smirked as he went back to work.

"Vanitas," Vanitas said.

"Donald!" Donald answered, pointing up.

"Goofy!" Goofy said, puffing up his chest in pride.

"That's... to the point," Leon said as a loading circle appeared in a tab on the screen.

"Well?" Sora asked as he and Vanitas walked up.

"That did it," Leon said as the loading screen disappeared. "We're in."

He turned to look at them.

"I have to go to town," Leon told them. "Need to see what that last shakeup was did."

"You're not gonna check out the data?" Sora asked. "It wasn't exactly easy to get!"

"I'm coming right back," Leon told them as he looked at the screen. "Hey, Sora, V, why don't you guys get started on loading the data and copying it down? It's just a few keystrokes."

He added the last bit to Sora's surprised face.

"Don't worry, I know how to do this stuff," Vanitas assured the brunette.

"Don't take too long," Leon said, patting Vanitas on the shoulder.

"Stitch, go with him," Vanitas instructed. The blue alien whined at that suggestion. "Don't worry, we'll catch up a little later. I promise."

Stitch hesitated for a few seconds, before he nodded his head and jumped up onto Leon's shoulders. The brunette was a little surprised, but he brushed it off.

"Okay," he shrugged.

Leon turned and walked down the hallway out of the computer room, waving goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Like I said, when we go through trauma, sometimes we don't wanna talk about it for a good, long while
> 
> *2 I remember, the first time I played the game, this was also a portion that took me forever to finish. Even though I had it on Beginner, and I had a freaking long health bar, I just sucked at riding that bike. I got a LOT better over the years
> 
> *3 I remember, when I was a kid, I loved this fight, one of the reasons was 'cause it introduced the second half of the game's Heartless theme, even though the Hostile Program wasn't really a Heartless. I still thought it was cool, though. Especially being able to literally Freeze the prick.
> 
> *4 I always hated Anti Form. I died in battle literally every time I ignited it
> 
> *5 I love Dead Rising. The Defiler was in 2 and 3, it was a sledgehammer with the top of an axe added onto the opposite sides of the parts that you actually hit things with
> 
> Ah, up next is possibly my favorite arc in the game. I just really love the Battle of 1000 Heartless


	19. Showdown at Hollow Bastion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble is never far...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not that great a summary, but like I said, it just love this arc in the game so much!

The group stared at the computer as it continued to process the passwords. The three that didn't understand the computer were incredibly confused by what they saw on the screen.

"Did it work?" Donald asked.

"Hey, these things take time, okay?" Sora told him.

"Exactly," Vanitas said. "Just give it a little more time..."

Sora then started pressing some keys, which caused a loading tab to appear.

"I just said to give it a little more time," Vanitas reprimanded.

"Whoa..." Sora said in amazement, seeing the loading tab. "It's doing something!"

"I think it wants to know what we want to know," Goofy suggested.

"Riku and Kairi!" Sora announced, pressing the keys.

A red tab then came up, saying "Data Error."

"No way..." Sora said.

"Actually, it's kinda believable," Vanitas admitted. "I mean, people usually have to put that stuff in manually, and what are the chances that Xehanort would actually document that stuff after he lost his heart?"

That didn't stop Sora from looking down with his eyes closed and walking away with a sad sigh. Goofy then walked up to the computer.

"Watcha doing?" Donald asked.

"I thought I'd ask the computer if it can tell us about them Nobodies," Goofy said, typing on the keyboard.

"Good idea," Vanitas said. "I remember back in Xehanort's reports that he did encounter the Nobodies during his small rein of research." *** _1_ ***

Sora walked over to join them in looking at the computer as a tab came up. It was labelled "Report," and the page had the Nobody sigil on the right side.

"What's this?" Sora asked.

The red tab came up again, and a female electronic voice announced, "The data is corrupt."

"What?" Donald asked in shock.

"How about the Organization?" Goofy asked, typing what he wanted to know. "There!"

A loading circle came up, but then the red tab appeared once again, and the voice announced, "The data is corrupt."

"Stupid computer!" Sora snapped.

He started ramming his fists down on the keyboard, making different colored tabs appear in weirdly placed areas on the screen.

"Sora!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Now I see where Roxas got it from," Vanitas muttered to himself. He put his hands on Sora's shoulders to try to get him to stop. "All right, stop! Man, I feel bad for your computer when you get into internet porn."

He stopped, and their attentions were drawn to the computer as a yellow tab came up, complete with a picture of Ansem the Wise in his robe, and data on the man.

"Who's this guy?" Sora asked.

Vanitas's eyes widened in recognition at his former master, just now realizing he hasn't seen his face in about a decade. When he remembered that this man was the reason he lost his friends, he felt anger grow in his stomach. He growled, pulled back his fist and prepared to throw it, but Sora and Goofy grabbed his arm to stop him.

"V, what the heck?" Sora asked as they pulled back the ravenette.

Their attentions were soon drawn back to the hallway.

"Welp, I see ya got things workin'!" Mickey's voice announced.

"Oh, Your Majesty!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy greeted.

"Hey, Mickey," Vanitas greeted as Mickey gestured for them to shush. "Hey, can you get these guys to let me go so I can punch this computer?"

They successfully pulled him away, and they all turned to see the King.

"Good goin'," Mickey congratulated them. "The computer should tell us the things we need to know."

"But it keeps on sayin' the data inside's all ker-skuffled," Goofy said.

"All we got is a picture of some guy we don't know," Sora said.

Vanitas growled in anger and pulled back his fist again, and Sora and Goofy grabbed him to stop him again.

"And V keeps trying to punch it!" Sora exclaimed, struggling to keep him in place.

Mickey gasped in surprise at the sight of the picture.

"Ansem the Wise!" he announced.

"That's the real Ansem?" Donald asked.

"Yup," Mickey answered. "And this is him. I promise!"

Vanitas yelled out as he kept trying to push through his friends, unsuccessfully.

"Uh, little help," Sora said.

Working together, the other four all took a hold from Vanitas and started pulling him away from the computer. They managed to pull him out of the computer room, the hallway, and back into the study. That was when they finally let go of the ravenette, and he breathed out. He then yelled out again and yelled out as he punched the painting of Xehanort right in between the eyes, tearing it slightly and making the frame crack.

"Well, had to direct the anger towards something," Sora said with slightly wide eyes. "Might as well have been towards the face of the guy we worked reeeally hard to defeat."

"V, why were you so angry to see Ansem the Wise?" Mickey asked.

The ravenette breathed in and out as the anger started to fade. He closed his eyes and gasped slightly.

"DiZ was Ansem the Wise," Vanitas answered. He looked down at Mickey behind him, and saw his friend with wider eyes. "The prick screwed me over. When he gave me the Vortex Manipulator, he spied on me. And when I made allies with some of the Organization members, he wanted me to kill them. He went so far with his plans that he drugged me and left me unconscious. In the rain."

All of their eyes widened at that.

"Even if he took care of me for a year," Vanitas said, gesturing to the computer room. "He was still part of the reason I lost some good friends."

"Whoa..." Sora, Donald, and Goofy softly said.

"Why would DiZ... sorry, Ansem, do that?" Mickey asked.

"He's too obsessed with his conquest with revenge on Xehanort," Vanitas said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "Asshole thinks that sticking it to Xehanrot's Nobody would be good enough to get back at Xehanort himself."

"His Nobody?" Sora asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Donald and Goofy had equal expressions of confusion, and Vanitas' eyes widened in realization.

"Oh, yeah, neither of us has mentioned that yet," Vanitas said.

"Well, remember how we mentioned that Xehanort lost his heart after stealing Ansem's name?" Mickey asked.

"The heart waited until it found a host, you met it as that weird dude in the brown coat, then he possessed Riku," Vanitas reminded them. "Then after we beat Riku, the heart finally became a Heartless, and that Heartless was the Ansem we faced."

"But the body didn't take that long to become a Nobody," Mickey pointed out.

"The asshole we faced, the one I nicknamed Mansex," Vanitas said. "He's the leader of the Organization. His real name is Xemnas." *** _2_ ***

"Then why'd you call him Mansex?" Donald asked.

"Like I said, the names are anagrams of their original names with the added letter X," Vanitas reminded him. "Ansem with an X added with the letters mixed up could have easily been Mansex."

He chuckled slightly at that. For once, Donald joined in on the laughs.

"I know I've met Xehanort before he had lost his heart," Mickey admitted. "But, not just with the silver hair."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure, too," Vanitas said, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "I think I saw him with darker hair. Almost brown. Maybe..."

' _Terra_ _?_ ' Vanitas thought, which Mickey heard in his head.

"I still can't believe this guy started all this," Sora admitted, gesturing to the picture of Xehanort. "Because of him, Riku and Kairi..."

"Oh," he gasped slightly in realization before looking down at Mickey. "Your Majesty, do you know where Riku is?"

"He's..." Mickey started to say before he looked down. "I'm sorry. I can't help."

Sora walked around Mickey to try to face him.

"Really, Your Majesty?" he asked. "Are you sure?"

Mickey turned away from him and said, "I'm sorry, Sora."

"...What about Kairi?" Sora asked. "Organization XIII might've kidnapped her."

Mickey quickly turned to face the brunette and exclaimed, "Oh, no!"

He looked at the painting of Xehanort.

"Sora, V, Donald, Goofy," Mickey started. He turned to face them. "I was plannin' to go get help from Ansem the Wise. But, now I know I forgot the most important thing. Helping others should always come before asking others for help. We're safe and sound, and free to choose! So there's no reason we shouldn't choose to help our friends."

They all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Let's look for Riku and Kairi together," Mickey suggested.

All of a sudden, the entire castle started rumbling, making Mickey lose his footing for a bit.

"Outside!" Sora exclaimed as the ground kept rumbling.

Within a few more seconds, the entire room was calm again, but they all knew things weren't good.

"Sounds like we gotta start by helpin' out here!" Mickey announced.

They nodded their heads in agreement as Mickey ran out of the open door to the study. The boys soon followed, as Vanitas gripped his head as he saw outside of the castle. Most of the bailey had been destroyed in an explosion, clearing a way through the road down towards the lower road towards the mountains outside of town. Lots of Heartless, consisting of Armored Knights and Surveillance Robots, went along the pathway into the castle.

"Jesus," Vanitas muttered as they went through the hallway.

"Hear me, my minions!" Maleficent's voice announced loudly nearby. "Attack the white husks! Sweep them away!" 

"What are you, nuts?" Pete's voice called out near hers. "We're never gonna win! I don't know about you, but I'm outta here, sister!"

"You pathetic coward!" Maleficent's voice snapped.

They ran around the corner and found the square shaped room, where they found the Heartless and Nobodies were actually fighting each other, with Maleficent fighting at the entrance of one of the hallways. The four stood in fighting stances, and Maleficent "hmph-ed" and disappeared in a flash of green and black fire.

"Heartless!" Maleficent's voice announced above them, making the Heartless and Nobodies stop. "Leave the white ones. Turn your attention to Sora and his friends!"

"Uh oh!" Goofy exclaimed as the enemies freeze and turn towards them.

They got out their weapons as the Dusks, Dancers, and Armored Knights faced them. Sora rushed forwards and used a combo attack on one of the Armored Knights, going up into the air and using an aerial combo to attack a nearby Dusk and Dancer. Donald started spamming Thunder while Goofy threw his shield and Vanitas fired a Remington shotgun with a stock at the enemies.

Heartless and Nobodies appeared completely at random throughout the fight. Goofy smacked the Armored Knights with his shield while Donald blasted Dusks with Blizzard. Sora then rose up and started a special move called Rising Sun to lunge around and slash though enemies. After a few slashes with that, he landed on the ground as a large, red and yellow Nocturnal Heartless appeared and blasted fire that they dodged. Vanitas fired his gun at it three times, which Sora followed up with a combo attack that destroyed it. They soon took out one last Nobody, and which ended the fight.

With the enemies gone, their attentions were drawn to one of the hallways, as the fairies flew down the steps and towards them.

"Where's Maleficent?" Yuna asked.

"Looks like she ran away," Sora commented.

"Well, that was PRET-ty lame of her," Rikku commented.

"I guess we picked the wrong side," Paine said.

"Uh, you think?" Vanitas asked.

The three of them then turned into a small circle and chatted loudly among each other, pretty obviously.

"Do we have time to witness this child like bullshit?" Vanitas asked.

Instead of getting an answer, the other three kept watching them. Donald even tapped his foot in irritation, and Sora crossed his arms in thought for a second.

"Umm, hey... if you're looking to pick sides, why don't you pick Leon's?" Sora asked. "They can always use help."

The three fairies turned towards the boys again.

"Does this Leon have any treasure?" Yuna asked.

"Yeah, lots of stuff!" Donald promised them by holding up his arms to express the grandness of treasure.

"Perfect!" Rikku cheered, ecstatic expressions on her and Yuna's faces.

"Come on," Paine announced.

"Who _are_ you?" Sora asked.

"Oh, we're nothing worth mentioning," Yuna assured them.

"Just three treasure fanatics," Paine told them.

"Later, taters!" Rikku told them.

Light gathered around the three, and they disappeared with the light. Sora then lowered his arms in thought.

"Did Leon... really have any treasure?" he asked.

"He does not," Vanitas told them. "Hell, we didn't even get that much throughout the nine years, and we saved like, millions of people."

Donald quietly laughed as he started running up the stairs opposite of the one the fairies came through. The others turned towards him and pulled out their weapons, with Vanitas pulling out his fire axe. They slashed through whatever enemies they came across as they went through the hallways, back out into the Postern. They were stopped pretty quickly by Dusks appearing in front of them.

"We don't have time for you!" Sora snapped.

Sora slashed through one Dusk, Vanitas slashed through the second, Donald slashed through the third, and Goofy slashed through the last one. They kept running along the path and into the circular part of the Postern. They reached the top of the stairs, but stopped in their places as light appeared right in the center.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed.

"What the fuck!" Vanitas exclaimed.

Once the light died down, there was a tall man slowly standing up to his feet. The man had very long silver hair, a red, black, and grey robe, a large black wing attached to his right shoulder blade, and silver shoulder armor on both shoulders. He turned around, and they recognized who he was based off of their description from Cloud.

"Sora, it's Sephiroth!" Donald announced.

"Ain't Sephiroth the one who's supposed to be the dark part of Cloud's heart?" Goofy asked.

"That's exactly what Cloud told us," Vanitas reminded him.

Sephiroth huffed, before asking, "Did Cloud tell you that? Then he must understand now."

"Just what are you gonna do to him?" Sora asked.

"Nothing," Sephiroth answered. "Cloud is the one who hungers for darkness."

"He says he's got a score to settle with you," Sora commented.

"I see..." Sephiroth said as he gestured with his left hand. "He wants to meet me again."

He turned, and they were able to see the very long sword attached to his hip, almost as if it was sheathed, but there was no sheath.

"Damn!" Vanitas exclaimed at the sight of the weapon. "That is a seven foot long sword. That's taller than some of us."

He smiled and crossed his arms.

"You tryin' to compensate for something?" Vanitas joked.

Sephiroth looked over his shoulder at the ravenette.

"I don't like you," he simply told Vanitas.

Sephiroth then turned away and continued walking away from them.

"I shall give Cloud what he wants," he told them as he stopped and gestured with his arms. "That last bit of light is always the hardest to snuff out."

Sephiroth then floated up into the air, and disappeared in a flash of darkness.

"I think now I prefer that guy back when he was a secret boss we could avoid," Vanitas commented.

They moved on, passing the silo and the large hole in it that they brushed off as they kept going down the road. *** _3_ ***

They moved down the back road out of the castle, finding Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith in combat with Armored Knights.

"We'll help!" Sora announced as they got closer to their friends.

Aerith looked over her shoulder towards them, and her eyes widened.

"Sora, V!" she yelled, pointing past them. "Behind you!"

They turned around to see more Dancers appearing. Vanitas gripped his axe, and the others summoned their weapons in preparation.

Donald blasted Blizzard, Goofy slid around on his shield like it was a sleigh, and Sora cast Magnet. Two of the Dancers were picked up, and he started attacking with aerial combos, while Vanitas attacked them with his axe. Donald helped with it by spamming Thunder. Once Magnet wore off, Sora recast it and picked the Dancers back up. Vanitas pulled a Browning Hi-Power handgun out and fired at the Nobodies up there. The Claymores for the town even helped by repeatedly knocking the enemies in the air.

More Dancers appeared after the first set were destroyed, and they kept attacking. One repeatedly kicked and knocked Vanitas back, even when he landed back on the ground, it happened again almost immediately. *** _4_ ***

The Dancers didn't last long after that. Just a few more combo attacks from Sora, blasts of magic from Donald, shield attacks from Goofy, and axe swings and pistol fire from Vanitas, and they were all destroyed. With the enemies gone, they turned their attentions back to their friends, who were running down the road, done with their own Heartless battles. Leon stuck back a bit for the Gummi quartet's benefit.

"The King's in the bailey," he told them. "You better head over there!"

"Got it!" Sora assured him.

"Let's roll!" Vanitas announced.

They ran down the road as Leon disappeared from sight in front of them. The four of them soon came through the broken down door, and became witnesses to the now destroyed bailey.

Whatever caused the blast only left scraps of the original bailey intact. All that was left was some of the room that overlooked the mountains, and pieces of the staircase that led down to the back door. Other than that, most of the area was broken rock, forming a perfect path for the Heartless to travel through to reach the castle. Amazed by the destruction in front of them, the four ran down the road and observed the mountains far in front of them.

"Whoa..." Sora said as he stared out.

"This might take a little while to fix," Vanitas quipped to try to lighten the tension.

It didn't work. Instead, he gripped his head in pain as he saw the advancing army of enemies walk down the Great Maw and across the mountains, getting closer and closer to them. The army ground was almost entirely covered by all the Armored Knights walking across the ground. Surveillance Robots flew above the air above them a bit. Wyverns flew high in the air, and a couple of Behemoths took up the rear. *** _5_ ***

The vision continued to show the others in combat against all of these enemies. Yuffie caught her giant shurikan, but then fell onto the ground, tired, as Armored Knights ran past her. Curaga appeared over her, revitalizing her. Aerith ran over as she pushed herself to her feet and offered a hand. Yuffie declined it, but thanked Aerith once she was back up. The two ran across the rock, after all the Heartless.

The vision cut to Stitch, who was blasting at Heartless with his yellow and red plasma guns. He then jumped out of the way as an Armored Knight slashed its knived hand at him, then blasted it with his gun, destroying it.

The fairies even got involved. Paine tricked an Armored Knight to the edge of the cliff, then Rikku and Yuna knocked it over the edge. The two high-fived each other, then flew away with Paine as Armored Knights charged at them.

The vision cut to Leon and Cloud, who were standing back to back with their swords drawn as Heartless gathered all around them.

"Think you can handle this many?" Leon asked the blonde.

"Well..." Cloud said. "Might be tough if one more shows up."

Leon huffed slightly.

"Then that'll have to be the one I take care of," he said with a smirk.

"What, you're fighting, too?" Cloud asked with a smirk of his own.

Vanitas immediately decided he wanted to witness more conversations between these of his two friends. Leon and Cloud then lunged forwards at the same time as the Heartless, slashing apart enemies pretty easily.

After a little while, Cloud ended up surrounded by a circle of Armored Knights. He held up his Buster Sword in preparation, but then half of them were suddenly taken out with a single slash. Cloud looked towards where the Heartless were slashed apart, and saw Sephiroth standing with his sword, slash over.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud exclaimed as the Heartless on his other side moved on. He then gripped his sword with both hands in preparation.

Sephiroth walked forwards and pointed his sword at Cloud.

"I understand that you've been looking for me," he said.

"Yeah," Cloud confirmed. "Once I get rid of you, the darkness will go away."

"Can you do it?" Sephiroth asked in his very evil sounding voice. "That darkness comes from your own dark memories. Do you think you can erase your past?"

"Shut up!" Cloud snapped.

"Face it," Sephiroth told him. "You turn your back on the present and live in the past. Because the light of the present is too much!"

"You don't know me!" Cloud snapped.

"Cloud!" Tifa called out from his left.

Cloud looked to his left, and winced and covered his face with his left hand.

"I know," Sephiroth told Cloud. "Because... I am you."

Sephiroth disappeared in a flash of black petals. Cloud winced and ran back down the pathway provided by the mountains, away from Tifa, who was running towards him.

"Cloud!" she called out. "Wait!"

Armored Knights then surrounded Tifa, and she raised her fists in preparation. She back punched one behind her, punched one in front of her, then spun around to kick another one, all within a few seconds.

The vision ended, and he gasped as he rejoined his friends in looking out at the mountains far in front of them.

"Leon, everybody, hang in there!" Sora announced.

They ran down the road a bit more, but stopped right before they could go off the edge of the part of the mountain by Mickey falling down while spinning, and landing in front of them. He held out his arms on each side, referencing for them to stop.

"Okay, fellas, you've gotta go find Riku and Kairi!" Mickey told them.

"But Leon and the others are friends, too!" Sora exclaimed.

"Yeah, we're not gonna just leave them in their time of need after everything they did for us," Vanitas told the King.

"Don't worry," Mickey told them. "There's already lotsa help here. We'll take care of this fight."

"But... I promised Leon!" Sora insisted, looking down.

"He's like a brother..." Vanitas admitted, also looking down, while Donald and Goofy looked at them, also worried for their friends.

"Donald! Goofy!" Mickey announced, and both of them stood at attention once again. "Take Sora and V and get goin'!"

"Riku, Kairi... give me a little time, okay?" Sora muttered to himself.

Donald and Goofy both simultaneously looked down in thought, looked at each other, and nodded their heads. They stood back up at attention and looked at the back of Mickey once again.

"Your Majesty!" Donald announced.

"We understand," Goofy said. "We'll go searching for Riku and Kairi!"

Sora and Vanitas looked at their friends in surprise, while Mickey kept surveying the land far in front of him.

"Right," Mickey said. "Watch for danger!"

"You be careful, too!" Donald told him.

"Wait, you guys!" Sora insisted.

"You're kidding, right?" Vanitas asked the two animals.

They looked back at Mickey, who was still looking far out into the mountains.

"Sora, do as you're told!" Donald instructed.

"You're comin' with us whether ya want to or not!" Goofy announced.

"Sounds kinda like me when we first went out on our first journey," Vanitas admitted.

"Come on, guys!" Donald instructed with a smile. "Ya gotta be good!"

Donald winked at them, and the two boys understood what the other two were implying.

"Gotcha," Sora said with a smile.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas agreed.

"Well, then, skedaddle!" Goofy instructed.

Sora mouthed "Thank you" to them gratefully. They then turned to face the edge of the mountain in front of them.

"Let's go!" Donald announced.

"Right!" Vanitas agreed with a nod of the head.

They started running down the path, much to the surprise of Mickey. They went over the edge and landed on the part just below, and Mickey ran to the edge himself to look down at them.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Sora told the King before jumping down the next part.

"We can't just leave them," Vanitas said before jumping after him.

Donald winced as he saluted before following them.

"Hope you can forgive us!" Goofy said before following them.

Even though they were traveling pretty far, Vanitas sensed that Mickey was smiling after them after a small bit of sadness at them ignoring him.

He then gripped his head as another vision started. It showed the inside of Ansem's computer room again, with Xemnas appearing and taking out the camera. He injected a disc, which started a program called "Another." After putting in the seven passwords, the names of Ansem the Wise's seven apprentices, he took the elevator down to the floor of the gigantic chamber. This caused the hidden compartment on the floor to open up, and the walkway to down even lower to appear. Xemnas slowly took the very long walk down the circular chamber and found himself at the doorway that led to the hallway of cells.

Vanitas winced as he remembered all the times he spent down there with the other apprentices and Ansem the Wise just discarding the rejected stock from experiments in those rooms. That was the one room in the entire lab that he despised more than anything, and that's counting the one where Xehanort made the Heartless machine. But then the man walked into an entirely new room that wasn't there when they were apprentices.

Xemnas kept walking until he reached the end of the hallway and walked into a circular chamber that was designed in a familiar way. There was a throne in the center of the room, with chain designs extending from it, leading along the floor and up the walls, where they stopped at Nobody sigils. Xemnas sat in the throne, making the black chain and sigil designs glow with a bright white light. Xemnas faced what was in front of him, and Vanitas's head felt like it was being torn apart from the inside as he recognized it.

On the floor in front of Xemnas was worn with age pieces of armor colored blue, white, grey, and purple. A Keyblade of similar colors was stabbed into place in the ground next to the armor, roosted up in the air.

 _Aqua's armor and Keyblade_ , Vanitas thought as he remembered sensing her presence nearby when they had taken on Ansem, Xehanort's Heartless.

He then saw something that he had never seen before, not even when he had his amnesia. Aqua, surrounded by black, with an unconscious Terra with silver hair in front of her, and her armor hugging him. She placed her Keyblade in Terra's hand, and sent him flying up, and she smiled as she floated down below them.

Vanitas gasped as the vision ended, and he realized that he was still running with his friends down the path. This just opened up a litany of entirely new questions. Why did Terra's hair turn silver? Was that something that had to do with Xehanort? What did her sinking into that blackness have to do with her being lost? And why would Xemnas put her armor and Keyblade in that room?

He had to push those thoughts away as they kept running down the path, finding themselves on a square shaped area that Vanitas remembered used to be a part of the way in and out of the castle through the mountains, but was now worn out with age. They stopped in their places as they saw a circle appear between them and where the arch used to be, and darkness shot up, signifying teleportation of an Organization member.

When the darkness finished surging, they were more annoyed than anything else to see Demyx staring at them. The blond(ish) man gasped slightly in surprise, then recuperated.

"Hey, you guys are looking lively," Demyx greeted like they were old friends.

"Scram!" Donald snapped.

"Yeah, Demyx, we're a little pre-occupied for me to kill you right now," Vanitas said, annoyed.

"Didn't we catch you messing around in the Underworld?" Sora asked the Nobody. "How'd a wimp like you get into Organization XIII?"

Demyx gasped in surprise and held up his arms as if trying to lighten some kind of tension. Sora crossed his arms.

"I bet you can't even fight!" he snapped.

"Yeah, but we can!" Donald added.

"You shouldn't judge anyone by appearance," Demyx said, wagging a finger at them like they did something wrong.

"Dude, we've all seen how you do things," Vanitas remarked. "On missions, you leave all the hard work of fighting to your allies, and when we fought in the Underworld, you just had your 'Notes' doing all the work. If you really wanna fight..."

They took out their weapons and stood in their battle stances.

"You're gonna have to do it yourself," Vanitas finished, cocking the M4 rifle in one hand and twirling his spear in the other.

Demyx jumped back with surprise on his face and a jaw dropped. He quickly closed his mouth and turned away from them, groaning to himself, "I told them they were sending the wrong guy..."

That made the boys step out of their battle stances in confusion.

"Who is this kook?" Sora asked.

"Remember, the Organization's made up of Nobodies," Goofy reminded him.

"Right..." Sora said. "No hearts!"

Demyx perked up at that.

"Oh, we do too have hearts!" he said as he looked over his shoulder at them. "Don't be mad..."

"You can't trick us!" Donald snapped, pointing at the Nobody.

Demyx turned to look away from them again, and Vanitas shared a vision with him back to Roxas, specifically a mission in Olympus Coliseum, where Roxas moved on despite Demyx not wanting to. The vision ended, and the Nobody turned towards them.

"Silence, traitor," he coldly announced, pointing at Sora with his left hand.

This surprised Sora.

Vanitas then actually started to believe Demyx would be a decent fighter when water started flowing up around him into the air. He raised his hand up at the top, which turned into an orb of water, which then slowly turned into his sitar. With an actually convincing evil smirk, Demyx lowered it into position over his torso and pointed at Sora with his right hand.

Of course, it wouldn't be Demyx if he didn't start the battle without the Forms.

"Dance water, dance!" he announced before strumming the strings on his sitar and releasing the Forms.

Vanitas made a ring of fire appear around the Nobody to take out Froms as soon as they were made. This worked to take out about 15, but then it wore off and they had to start doing things manually. Donald attacked with his own magics of Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder, Goofy spun around his his shield, Vanitas blasted his rifle and jabbed with his spear, and Sora repeatedly used the Forms to attack other Forms. Once all 50 of the Forms Demyx sent out were destroyed, whatever magic had started this faded, making the man mutter, "Uh, oh..."

Vanitas fired his rifle one handed at the man before Sora started a combo attack that knocked the man up into the air, then immediately doing an aerial combo attack with the usual many end slashes. At the same time, Goofy spun around with his shield to attack, and Donald whacked the man with his staff. Once Demyx and them were back on the ground, he backed towards Sora, and they somehow ended up in a situation as if they were playing a show, and Sora stole Demyx's thunder by slashing him with his Keyblade, knocking him back.

Vanitas felt good to finally get his revenge on Demyx by firing his assault rifle directly at the man's face. Of course, since he was a Nobody, it had little effect as per usual, but it still felt relieving nonetheless. Sora then once again used a combo attack to knock the man in the air then did an aerial combo, as Donald kept jumping up to attack with his staff, and Goofy threw his shield. Demyx once again pulled Sora in as if they were on a stage, and Sora once again slashed him with his Keyblade and knocked him back.

After another series of combos from Sora, spear jabs and whacks from Vanitas, Staff hits from Donald, and shield throws from Goofy, Demyx finally fought back. He sent out many orbs of water, some of which exploded roughly in Goofy and Vanitas's faces. He then casually strolled forwards and had more orbs fall from nowhere, and they all had to move to dodge them. Donald and Goofy kept close to attack with their weapons, and that caused them to get hit in the face with more orbs that exploded as two Forms then appeared. Sora attacked Demyx with the Form while Donald cast Cure to heal himself.

Vanitas jabbed Demyx with his spear again then twirled it around and smacked him in the face with the pole part. He then jumped up and kicked Demyx in the head, knocking him back a bit. Demyx then pulled Sora into the stage like projection again, and Sora once again slashed at him, knocking him back. Using the abilities gained from Wisdom Form, Sora slid out of the way as Demyx had more water orbs fall from above and explode on the ground, while Goofy threw his shield at the man in an attack.

Sora then slid in close to Demyx just in time for the blond(ish) man to once again announce, "Dance water, dance!"

He strummed the strings, and Forms appeared again. Vanitas picked up his dropped rifle and reloaded it quickly, firing at the approaching Forms. Sora still spammed the move of attacking them with each other though, which got the job done a lot quicker. Once the 13 Forms were gone, Sora didn't hesitate to attack Demyx with another combo that knocked him into the air, and follow it up with an aerial combo. As Demyx fell to the ground, Donald cast Thunder, knocking the man back a bit more across the ground.

Donald attacked with his staff, Goofy threw his shield, Vanitas fired his rifle, and Sora slid out of the way as Demyx made water orbs fly down. He then cast Reflect as three pillars of water surrounded him in an attack. Demyx then swung his sitar, which sent out some more orbs of water. Out of immediate rifle ammo, Vanitas slipped it back into his sling and picked his spear back up.

Demyx then slowly walked towards Sora with pillars of water in front of him, and Sora hit him with Thunder to stop the attack. Sora then got in close and used a combo to knock Demyx in the air, but his following aerial combo was cut off by the man lunging to the side and leaving behind water pillars to attack, knocking some of them back a bit. Vanitas then pulled Donald and Goofy out of the way as Demyx started swinging his sitar around, making pillars of water appear all around to attack, muttering, "Come on, stick to the beat!"

He exclaimed, "Gotcha now!" as he performed the finisher, which included multiple pillars surrounding Sora. But he cast Reflect to defend himself. Sora then used the abilities granted to him by Master Form to double jump away, out of range of Demyx's attacks. *** _6_ ***

Vanitas ran in close and swung his spear at Demyx's head, which he ducked under. Demyx then swung his sitar and knocked it out of Vanitas's hands, so the ravenette decided to get smart. He grabbed the sitar in the Nobody's hands, and Demyx gasped in so much anger, you'd have thought the ravenette did something much worse. He then ended up in a wrestle with Demyx for the sitar, exactly what the plan was. He smacked Demyx right in the face with the musical instrument, jumped up and came down to elbow him in the shoulder.

This forced Demyx to lean forwards, and Vanitas brushed off the blow job joke he wanted to make. Instead, he grabbed Demyx by the shoulders, kneed him in the chest, elbowed him in the back, then grabbed the back of his coat. He tossed Demyx in the air, and jumped up after him. He slammed his fist right into Demyx's back, making the blonde(ish) man fall to the ground hard.

Demyx then directed his sitar attacks directly at Vanitas, and the ravenette had to backflip to avoid the water pillars and orbs. He didn't even pay attention to the others, so Donald was able to sneak up behind him and set his ass on fire. Demyx exclaimed in fright, then swung his sitar at Donald, who jumped back to dodge it. Demyx then pulled Sora into the situation like they were on a stage again, but then Vanitas stepped between his friend and the Nobody.

"Shut up!" he exclaimed, pulling a banjo out of his sling.

Vanitas then hit Demyx right in the face with the banjo, swearing it actually made the sound it made when you pluck strings as he knocked the man back.

This ended up ending the fight, as Demyx muttered, "Oh, I blew it again..." Sora breathed out as he felt Blizzard get upgraded to Blizzara, but there was something he was confused about.

"Why do you have a banjo in the sling?" he asked Vanitas.

"For hitting guys with them," Vanitas simply said, as if that was an everyday thing he did.

Their attentions were drawn back to Demyx as he breathed in and out and fell to his knees, placing one hand on the ground to brace himself. His sitar disappeared from his hand, and he gasped at the sight as he forced himself to his feet again.

"No waaay!" Demyx yelled out in a tragic voice as he looked up and covered the sides of his face with his hands.

He looked down as he yelled in agony and kneeled. Black thorns flew out of him, and water flew up into the air, signaling that he was fading away. Pretty soon the thorns and the water faded, and Demyx was gone. Sora stood up straight, Keyblade still in hand.

"Anyone from the Organization who'd like to be next?" he taunted, looking around.

"Hey, Sora!" Donald snapped, getting the brunette's attention. "Don't antagonize them!"

"Yeah, man," Vanitas said. "I found Mansex by myself, and even though it was pretty close, he did a surprise attack that defeated me in one move. Don't underestimate them."

"Right now, we gotta go help our friends out," Goofy announced.

"Oh," Sora said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment and dismissing his Keyblade. "Sorry."

"Then let's go!" Donald announced.

"Right on," Vanitas agreed, sliding his banjo back into his sling.

They started to walk forwards a bit, but stopped when a familiar voice called out, "Aha! There you are!"

They turned around to see an angry looking Mickey standing at the bottom of the steps in the square shaped area they were in. The king walked towards them and crossed his arms, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked down in sadness. Vaitas didn't really require much approval from the King, so it didn't entirely matter to him. The frown disappeared from Mickey's face as he looked up at them.

"You sure have lotsa friends to help," he told them.

The three of them brightened at his words.

"Well, yeah," Vanitas remarked with a smile.

"So, I guess we better all pull together and finish this battle for good!" Mickey announced.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy announced.

The King walked forwards a bit, and Goofy's attention was drawn to one of the mountain tops above them, at the sounds and sights of a Surveillance Robot in battle with a Dusk. The Robot fired a bolt that blew up both of them and part of the mountain top, sending large rocks down towards them. And one large one was in just the right trajectory to fly towards Mickey.

"Look out!" Goofy instructed.

He pushed Mickey away, and the rock hit him in the head instead, knocking him back towards a wall of mountain next to them, which hit his head again.

"Goofy!" Sora exclaimed as they ran towards their friend.

"Oh, shit!" Vanitas exclaimed.

"No..." Mickey denied with worry on his face as he stopped in the middle of the square shaped area.

"Hey!" Donald announced as he kneeled down next to Goofy and pat his unconscious friend's stomach. "You're the King's Captain! You gotta get up!"

"C'mon, wake up!" Sora exclaimed as he kneeled down next to Goofy.

"I'm sorry about the ice cream!" Donald exclaimed, patting Goofy again.

Vanitas wondered what that meant, but brushed it aside as he remained worried for his unconscious friend.

"Goofy?" Mickey softly asked.

Donald whined out before crying, "Goofy..."

"This is not happening..." Sora denied. "It can't be happening..."

Vanitas frowned. These guys were quick to jump to the conclusion that Goofy was dead. He remembered very clearly how he had admitted to Drax that he got hit in the head a lot, and his head had hit the floor when they first crashed onto Earth 616, and a nurse said that this happens to him a lot. Did they really think that just 'cause they were currently at war that something that happens to the dog pretty often that he could easily walk away from was suddenly something that would actually kill him? Sora and Donald looking down next to their unconscious friend kind of confirmed those suspicions for him.

Nearby, Mickey gripped his fist in anger and looked down the road next to them, the one that led into the mountains.

"They'll pay for this," he announced.

Mickey threw off his coat, revealing clothes similar to those that he was wearing the first time Vanitas met him, but with a red, yellow, and grey color pattern. Mickey summoned his Kingdom Key D and started down the road.

Donald then pushed himself to his feet and yelled out in anger as he followed Mickey down the road. Sora reached for him, confused for a second, before he decided it was time. Vanitas left a Potion next to the unconscious form of Goofy for when he knew the dog would wake up. Pulling out his machete in preparation, he and Sora ran down the road after their friends, ready for the upcoming fight...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 That did happen. I remember in one of the Timeline episodes where they showed the Ansem Reports from I in the time frame where they were written, they did mention in one that Xehanort had seen the Nobodies before
> 
> *2 Like I mentioned before, they already know the truth about the difference between Xehanort and Ansem, they should know a few things. So, I figured that they would have better reactions than those of in game, since they were mostly in surprise in those. So, I figured it would be slightly better when they've already known the truth for a while
> 
> *3 Just a tiny reference to the Cavern of Remembrance, 'cause since it's not a canon part of the series, but we still see the giant hole in the episode of the Timeline
> 
> *4 Dancers were my least favorite Nobody, specifically because of this reason
> 
> *5 I saw one of the original trailers for 2, where the Wyverns and Behemoths were included in this battle, but they scrapped them from the game. Apparently, they almost scrapped the 1000 Heartless Battle entirely, but I guess found a ground zero by just taking out the Wyverns and the Behemoths. As I already made clear, I'm including them for when we get there
> 
> *6 That is pretty much what the ability of Master Form give you
> 
> Man, doing the attacks in the game is very different from writing about them in the story. Writing about them, you actually realize how much dangerous shit you did to enemies in very little time. The Demyx fight alone, that first wave of attacks that they did after the Dance Water, Dance was like 40 seconds. Really drives it home how the games are only so long 'cause of the cutscenes
> 
> Anyway, we all know what comes next. The gauntlet of enemies as they go through the path, and then... well, you know...


	20. Battle of 1000 Heartless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group fights with their friends against the Heartless...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all know what happens here...

Sora and Vanitas travelled down the road into the mountains, where they knew the Heartless were gonna be coming from. As to be expected, they reached the first part of the path, and barriers came up just as multiple Shadows appeared in front of them. Smoke then flared in front of them, and Yuffie appeared, shurikan in hand.

"Sora! V!" she greeted. She slashed with her shurikan at the Shadows, announcing, "Yuffie is on the scene!"

Sora started combo attacks against the remaining Shadows, while Vanitas slashed through one with his machete without difficulty. Once the Shadows were gone, Armored Knights appeared, and Yuffie slashed around with her shurikan again at them. Vanitas embedded his machete in one Knight's shoulder, then pulled out the Browning Hi-Power handgun from earlier and fired it at another Knight.

Sora then started using Rising Sun so slash through them all, and it was so effective that he kept it up when the Armored Knights were gone and he used it on some Soldiers. Yuffie then appeared in front of two soldiers in a puff of smoke and got her shurikan ready for a stronger attack. She slashed at the Soldiers in front of her. Vanitas helped by kicking one in the knee armpit, stopping it from being able to move, so she was able to destroy both easily. Sora used Rising Sun one more time, and the last Knight was destroyed, ending the fight.

"All right, get goin'!" Yuffie encouraged.

She and Vanitas kissed goodbye, and Yuffie disappeared in a cloud of smoke again.

The barriers lowered, so Sora and Vanitas moved on down the road, deeper into the mountains. Another barrier soon came up, and Soldiers and Armored Knights appeared. Leon and Stitch then appeared seemingly out of nowhere behind them.

"I'll help out!" Leon announced, having ultra magic appear over his gunblade, making the blade longer.

"Jugi!" Stitch exclaimed in agreement, holding up his yellow and red blasters.

Sora started using combo attacks against the Heartless, while Vanitas replaced his machete with his sledgehammer and knocked them away. Leon shot a ball of fire out of his gunblade and knocked down a Soldier as Stitch fired at both varieties. Sora slashed away some Armored Knights with Rising Sun, Vanitas smashed some Soldiers with his sledgehammers, and Stitch blasted at whichever were left with his blasters.

Once that first wave was over, maybe a dozen Shadows popped up out of the ground, and Leon started attacking them with his extended sword. Sora then cast Magnet that lifted the Shadows up in the air, giving them better targets at their enemies. Once they took out most of the Shadows, Soldiers appeared again, along with one designed like a giant spiked ball. Sora cast Magnet again to keep that guy in the air as Vanitas and Stitch attacked it. Leon kept slashing at the Shadows and Soldiers with his extended gunblade as they went along the area to fight.

Vanitas soon knocked down the large spiked ball Heartless and smacked it with his sledgehammer so many times it was destroyed. Sora did an attack called Cyclone to finish off a Soldier, Stitch blasted apart Shadows, and Leon did a giant slash with his sword to finish off multiple Heartless at once. The fight ended with that.

"Go!" Leon instructed.

"Help others!" Stitch slowly said as he and Leon went back up the path.

They nodded their heads at their friends and turned towards the path in front of them as the barrier fell. They moved on down the road and came into a small area out in the open, giving them a clearer view of the outside mountains. They stopped when a barrier popped up, and spiked ball Heartless, Armored Knights, and Shadows appeared.

"I'll help!" Tifa announced, showing her arrival by jumping in and spinning in a kick, which hit the Heartless and knocked them in the air.

Vanitas replaced his sledgehammer with his fire axe and swung at the Armored Knights with it. Sora used a combo attack to knock a spiked ball one in the air, then cast Reflect as Shadows attacked him. More Armored Knights soon appeared. Tifa punched and kicked Heartless away pretty easily, before Sora rose up to use Rising Sun against an Armored Knight. This ended up being better than they could have expected, as he slashed through the Armored Knights, and used the move to do significant damage against the spiked ball Heartless.

Tifa did more spinning kicks against the spiked balls and the Armored Knights, holding her own against the enemies. Vanitas hacked his axe through another Armored Knight as Sora used Reflect to dodge an attack from a Shadow, sending out the mini explosions that destroyed a spiked ball and the remaining Armored Knights. Tifa kicked a spiked ball and destroyed it before all three of them destroyed the remaining Shadows with their own attacks.

"Hurry, go on ahead!" Tifa instructed before going back the way she came.

The barrier came down in front of them, and Sora and Vanitas kept down on the path in front of them. They were soon back hidden in some of the mountains, with an edge on the side giving them a slightly clear view over an edge. They ended up in a small area in front of an open pathway into a cave. Barriers came up, and a whole bunch of Shadows made a semi circle around them.

"Sora! V!" Cloud announced his arrival by slamming his sword to the ground in front of the Shadows, knocking them all into the air at once with a shockwave.

"Hey, man!" Vanitas greeted, reloading his handgun and firing up at the Shadows as they fell. "We ran into your girlfriend. She was looking for you!"

Sora attacked at some of the Shadows as they fell, but then three spiked ball Heartless appeared around them. Vanitas pulled his bat from his sling and knocked it at one of the spiked ball Heartless while Cloud charged at another and started slashing his Buster sword at it. Surveillance Robots then appeared and floated around above them. Sora knocked one spiked ball into the air and used an aerial combo to finish it off while Cloud slashed through the variety of Heartless around him.

Vanitas swung his bat into another one of the spiked balls, sending it spinning into the other one. Cloud rushed in multiple times to stab with his sword at Shadows and spiked balls alike. Another spiked ball appeared, and Sora ended up getting blasted by a Surveillance Robot's lasers. Vanitas fired up at it with his handgun, and took out the Robot just in time for the gun to click empty.

Sora cast Magnet, lifting up various Heartless, making the targets easier for him and Vanitas. Cloud then charged in and slashed at one of the spiked balls while Sora managed to catch the other and repeatedly slam it to the ground until it was destroyed, while Vanitas smacked his bat into the third one one more time and destroyed it.

Almost as if this was a final stretch, even more Heartless appeared, consisting of Surveillance Robots, Armored Knights, and spiked balls. Luckily they managed to take out some of the Armored Knights easily and knock one of the spiked balls into the air. Cloud slashed at the Surveillance Robots, Vanitas knocked down the Knights, and Sora did a combo attack on the spiked ball, taking out the Heartless and ending the fight.

Cloud said nothing, just jumped up into the air with a shockwave on the ground as the barriers in front of them faded. Sora and Vanitas kept going into the cave, which had crystals lining the walls. They went further and further into the cave, finding themselves in a small room with Donald and Mickey. Sora sighed out, tired, and rested his hands on his knees. Vanitas gripped his chest as he found himself feeling exhausted, and burning up a bit.

"Are you okay?" Mickey asked them.

Vanitas pulled a water bottle out of his sling and opened it. He raised it above his head, not even caring. Some landed on his head, some went in his mouth, it all worked.

"Peachy," Vanitas said as the bottle was soon empty. He crumpled it up and put it back in his sling. He did a lot of things, but he never littered.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but..." Sora said, standing up and trailing off.

"Ohh, Goofy..." Donald said as he and Mickey looked down with Sora.

"Hey, fellas!" said person's voice called out down the cave behind them.

Donald and Mickey jumped in surprise at the sound. They all looked down the cave to see Goofy waving at them with a happy expression.

"Goofy!" Sora, Mickey, and Donald exclaimed in happiness.

Goofy ran towards them, but stopped and gripped his head.

"Ya know, that really hurt!" he admitted.

"Aw, Goofy!" Mickey exclaimed as he jumped up and caught Goofy in a hug.

"Gawrsh, Yer Majesty, I get bumped on the head all the time," Goofy pointed out.

"Yeah, which makes me really surprised that you all thought that he was dead," Vanitas commented.

Sora chuckled at that, but Donald shook in slight anger. Still carrying his staff, he marched right over to Goofy as Mickey hopped down. He pulled back his staff, then exclaimed as he hit his friend in the knee with it. Goofy exclaimed in pain as he gripped his knee with both hands and hopped up and down.

"That hurt, too," Goofy exclaimed.

Donald growled for a bit before he snapped, "Don't you ever do that again!"

Mickey smiled at his two friends, even while Donald kept chewing out Goofy. Nearby, Sora and Vanitas directed their gazes away from their friends and down the path next to them. The path led into the Great Maw, and down to the Dark Depths, which overlooked the remains of Maleficent's castle.

"That's where the army's coming from," Vanitas informed him. "Whatever happens, there's gonna be one hell of a battle."

Sora nodded his head in agreement. They spent the next few minutes using Mega Potions and Ethers on each other, making sure they were all prepared for whatever came. Sora even used the Drive Counter Increaser for if he needed to ignite a Drive Form.

They continued their trek out of the cave and across the mountains into the Great Maw. They reached the center of the area, but then stopped.

"Huh?" Mickey asked.

"What's with them?" Sora asked.

All the Heartless, the Armored Knights, the Surveillance Robots, the Behemoths, and even the Wyverns, were all just waiting in place, barely even moving as they stood or floated where they were.

"They're waiting for orders," Vanitas announced with slightly wide eyes. "An army waiting for their general to appear."

"Who's the general?" Donald asked.

"Hey!" Goofy announced, pointing at the top of a nearby mountain.

They followed his pointed finger up to see a man in an Organization XIII cloak appear, darkness fading around him to show he had just teleported in. The man slipped off his hood to show his long silver hair and orange eyes, and looked down at them.

"It's Xehanort!" Donald announced.

"You mean it's his Nobody!" Goofy corrected him.

"Mansex!" Sora announced. He shook his head in slight embarrassment as Vanitas laughed. "I mean... Xemnas! The leader of Organization XIII..."

"Now I remember!" Mickey announced, having a slight flashback of his own.

Vanitas saw in it that it was when Mickey had visited Hollow Bastion on his own once to see Ansem the Wise. It was probably a day that Vanitas was down in the lower levels of the lab, otherwise he definitely would have started remembering things then. Xehanort then appeared in the room, his hair looking much more like Terra's as he tried to bring up the talk of doors and the heart of the world, and Ansem forbade him from talking about it. That was probably when the man had started his own experiments under his stolen master's name.

"We have to go after Xehanort!" Mickey announced as the flashback ended, and Xemnas smiled at them.

Mickey summoned his Keyblade and ran off, quickly leaving their sights.

"Let's go!" Sora announced.

They nodded their heads and got ready to move... but _that_ _'s_ when the Heartless moved into place, quickly surrounding them. They summoned their weapons as they observed the vast number of enemies around them. The Armored Knights and Surveillance Robots surrounded them as far as the eye could see; all around the Great Maw, practically covering the ground on the ways out, and even on top of some of the mountains. The few Behemoths there were were in front of them, in the large number of Heartless. Wyverns flew high above them in the air, making it impossible to count them all as they continuously flew by quickly.

"Move it!" Sora snapped at the Heartless.

"We can't let Xemnas get away!" Donald announced.

"Right!" Sora agreed.

Sora and Vanitas looked over their shoulders at Donald and Goofy. The two animals smirked and gave thumbs ups as they understood. They ran off on each opposite side and disappeared from sight. Sora and Vanitas looked forwards at the enemies in front of them.

"Let's do this," Vanitas softly announced. "All the way..."

They started running towards the Heartless, and Vanitas yelled out as the Heartless charged at the same time.

It was one hell of a battle.

Sora started off with a simple move, using an aerial combo to destroy a Surveillance Robot, while Vanitas fought through Armored Knights with his machete in one hand and his bat in the other. Sora then used Rising Sun to attack, taking out multiple Armored Knights and occasionally a Surveillance Robot with each lunge. Vanitas backflipped away from the laser fire from a Surveillance Robot and pointed his hand at it. Luckily, his telekinesis responded, and he pointed the Heartless so it was facing other Heartless, shooting its lasers at its allies. Vanitas then jumped up and slashed through the Robot, destroying it.

Sora landed on the ground and cast Reflect as a Robot fired its lasers at him, enough for the mini explosions to happen to the Armored Knights around them. He then started lunging around again with Rising Sun, taking out Heartless with each lunge. Once he landed on the ground, Sora then ignited Limit Form, and his clothes were made into the similar color designs of his old jumpsuit and jacket.

Vanitas replaced his bat with an Uzi 9mm and fired up into the air at approaching Wyverns, stopping them from slashing their claws at them. He then jumped out of the way as Sora started the Sonic Blade move, sliding around and attacking with the Keyblade as he charged forwards. Sora then started combos similar to what he used to do, which had finishers that looked awesome, one of which included Zantusanken.

Vanitas then leaped up onto one Wyvern, and it shrieked out in displeasure. He fired his automatic weapon at Heartless with one hand and blasted fire out of his machete in the other, doing attacks on both fronts to the enemies below them. A couple of times, the Wyvern tried throwing him off, and the Surveillance Robots tried to shoot him off, but neither group was successful. Instead, Vanitas waited until the Heartless outlived its usefulness, then slashed its head off. He landed on the ground in a roll, and stood right back up, ready for more.

Sora, meanwhile, had done multiple more combo attacks, then started the attack Ragnarok, slashing his Keyblade while rising up into the air and releasing homing energy that shot out and exploded onto many Armored Knights. Pretty soon after that, Limit Form wore off, and Sora was back to his normal attacks. He kept to basic combo attacks before using Rising Sun to slash through multiple Armored Knights, then using an Aerial combo as a Wyvern attacked him. He then jumped up and grabbed a Surveillance Robot and spun around as it fired its giant laser, taking out dozens of enemies at once.

Both Sora and Vanitas's attentions were then drawn to the first Behemoth, making its way towards them on the battlefield. Remembering that its weak spot was the horn on its head, Vanitas replaced his empty Uzi with a SPAS 12 shotgun. He managed to dodge the Behemoth's feet and parkoured himself up onto its back, then repeatedly fired his gun right at the horn, causing pieces to fly all over, just like before. Sora double jumped to get up, and used aerial combos to attack the horn before launching up Thunder. They then both had to get out of the way as the Behemoth made lightning appear around. They managed to dodge, and it didn't harm any other Heartless.

Vanitas then pushed Armored Knights away before blasting them apart with his shotgun, while Sora double jumped to get on top of the Behemoth again. Sora used many combo attacks before reigniting Limit Form. He started up the attack Ars Arcanum, and did the usual many, many slashed as he attacked the horn. Sora finished the attack, which at the same time finished off the Behemoth. It exploded slightly, making Sora fall back onto the ground as the Heart floated up into the air.

Vanitas stared at his friend as he landed back on his ground. Channeling his inner Gimli, Vanitas snapped, "That still only counts as one!"

The ravenette switched out his shotgun for his BO staff, and twirled it around as he knocked aside the Heartless. At the same time, Sora reverted out of Limit Form and used the Surveillance Robots to attack with their lasers three times in a row, taking out over a hundred Heartless.

"I'm gonna have to step up my game," Vanitas commented.

Twirling his staff with one hand, Vanitas pulled a six barreled M32 grenade launcher out of his sling and pointed it. Wishing acid rounds or flame rounds from Resident Evil were real, he fired the launcher, sending out small projectiles that exploded where they landed. Once it clicked empty, he slid it back into his sling and went back to attacking with his staff.

As Sora kept using Rising Sun to lunge around, and using Reflect and combo attacks, Vanitas realized the BO staff wasn't gonna cut it. He pulled out his katana and slashed through enemies while gripping the handle with both hands. He did the usual graceful moves while also blasting fire at the enemies. After a few minutes of slashes, Vanitas got an idea.

Sora landed on the ground, and Vanitas backflipped behind him so they were back to back. Vanitas started a team attack with him by encasing both their weapons in fire, and surrounding them in fire, protecting them from the Heartless' attacks. The two of them charged forwards and did strong slashes at whatever Heartless that came near them, soon followed by sliding forwards similar to Sonic Blade, and then stabbing at whatever enemy was in front of them with their blades. They landed on the ground and pointed them forwards. Strong beams of fire shot out of their swords and into whatever Heartless they pointed them at, before large explosions burst out, destroying lots of enemies. Sora and Vanitas fist bumped as the team attack ended. *** _1_ ***

"Now we're even," Vanitas announced.

"But we did a lot of those attacks togeth..." Sora started to say.

"Now we're even!" Vanitas snapped before raising his Katana and slashing at an Armored Knight in front of him.

Sora reignited Limit Form and used Sonic Blade twice in a row as Vanitas slashed through enemies that came near him, Surveillance Robot and Armored Knight alike. While Sora grabbed a Surveillance Robot and used its laser to attack other Heartless, Vanitas replaced his sword with a Sadu ASALT 96 in each hand (after using one against Ronan, he had grown fond of the Romanian automatic), and fired up at the Wyverns in the air. He managed to dodge the Armored Knights and Surveillance Robots as he fired at the dragon like Heartless in the air, taking them apart with his bullets.

Pretty soon, the number of Heartless all around them started to get thinner, but at the same time, the second Behemoth came out, and roared in defiance.

With Limit Form having run out, Sora jumped up and cast Blizzara at the horn, doing some damage.

"Out of the way!" Vanitas exclaimed.

Sora looked over his shoulder at Vanitas through the Heartless. The ravenette had slipped the automatics over his shoulders by the straps and was holding a large RPG in his hands. Getting the message, the brunette ran to the side as Vanitas fired the propelled grenade right at the Behemoth's head, causing a large explosion right where the horn was.

Unfortunately, this just caused the Heartless to fall to the ground a bit and roar out in pain. It then stood back up and sent out lightning in retaliation, which they had to dodge pretty quickly. Sora then started to make his way back towards the Behemoth, but then Armored Knights and Surveillance Robots moved in front of him. He did various combos and Rising Suns, but nothing that could get him closer to the Behemoth.

"Once again, I wish I had the Defiler," Vanitas commented as he charged at the Behemoth, reaching for anything in his sling.

He leaped up onto the Heartless's head, and ended up pulling out the banjo. Vanitas sighed out before swung it at the horn, sending pieces flying again. He did a variation of a combo attack with the banjo as he attacked the horn, doing quite a bit of damage. Light then gathered in front of the two curved horns, and Vanitas did his best to attack and stop what was coming. He successfully managed to stop it, and made the Behemoth fall to the ground and lower its head.

Vanitas jumped up and pulled a grenade out in preparation. The Behemoth slowly rose up and opened is mouth to roar and shoot lightning, but Vanitas was able to pull the pin of the grenade out with his teeth and lobed it down the Heartless's throat. The Behemoth choked slightly, then the whole thing shake as the grenade went off inside. The Heartless fell to the ground and exploded slightly, releasing its Heart into the air.

"Whoo!" Vanitas called out in celebration.

He strummed a few cords on the banjo before turning it around again and smacking an Armored Knight in the face with it.

As Sora kept using Rising Sun to slash through the decreasing numbers of Armored Knights, Vanitas replaced the banjo with one of the ASALT 96, shooting at some of the remaining Wyverns. When the gun clicked empty and a Wyvern kept charging at him, Vanitas pulled out his Michael Myers Knife and threw it up in the air, stabbing the Wyvern and taking it out.

While Sora used another Surveillance Robot's laser to attack, Vanitas collected his weapons and put them back in the sling. He pulled his sledgehammer out and slammed an Armored Knight with it, knocking it to the ground. He then grabbed his other ASALT with his free hand and fired at the remaining Wyverns that flew right at him.

Pretty soon, all that were left of the army were a few Armored Knights. Vanitas replaced his weapons one last time, this time with his machete, and slashed through the approaching Knights. Sora did a couple more combo attacks with finishers that knocked enemies into the air, but was also effective at finishing the job. Within seconds, they took out the last of the Heartless, effectively destroying the army.

With the threat defeated, they moved on from the Great Maw and along the path towards the Dark Depths. Sora leaned against a wall, tired, as Vanitas found himself struggling to breathe in exhaustion.

"This was... a great win... for Hollow Bastion..." Vanitas panted out. "Holy shit, I'm gonna die..."

Within seconds, the exhaustion faded from Vanitas, but he still felt after effects since his arms moved a lot more slowly. The two of them looked over their shoulders to see Donald and Goofy running up the paths towards them. They stood up straight again and greeted their friends.

"Where's the King?" Sora asked.

They looked around in curiosity, and found him in the Dark Depths, facing off against some Heartless of his own.

"There he is!" Donald announced as Mickey slashed through an Armored Knight.

"C'mon!" Sora announced.

They ran down the path into the area, where Mickey was in the center staring at Xemnas, who was standing at the edge of the cliff and looking down at Maleficent's old castle, but with his eyes closed.

"Your Majesty!" Donald yelled out, signaling their arrival.

Mickey was surprised and looked back to see them running towards them, then made his face back into a serious frown as he stared at Xemnas.

"Xehanort!" Mickey snapped.

"How long has it been since I abandoned that name..." Xemnas said, looking up in thought.

"Xemnas, you asshole!" Vanitas snapped.

He pulled an M79 grenade launcher out and fired the shot that was inside, causing an explosion where Xemnas stood. However, unsurprisingly, once the fire faded, he was completely fine.

"Nice to see you again, too, Vanitas," Xemnas said, and they knew he was smiling even though he wasn't looking at them.

"Out with it, Nobody!" Sora snapped. "Where's Kairi? Where's Riku!?"

"I know nothing of any Kairi," Xemnas admitted. "As for Riku..." He turned around to face them. "Perhaps you should ask your king."

"What?" Vanitas asked as Sora looked from Xemnas to Mickey in surprise. "Last time either Mickey or I saw Riku, he never gave any indication of where he was going."

"You saw Riku!?" Sora asked in shock.

Vanitas's eyes widened in realization.

"Wait, did I forget to mention that?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Sora said.

"I'll... tell you when we get out of here," Vanitas said, facing Xemnas again.

"Stop!" Mickey snapped, running forwards as darkness started to surge around Xemnas.

The darkness surged completely around Xemnas, and somehow absorbed Mickey into it. The darkness faded, and both Xemnas and Mickey were gone. The others ran forwards towards it, to no avail.

"He's gone..." Sora said, holding out a hand.

He then let himself fall to the ground and slammed his fist to the ground in disappointment. Goofy and Vanitas walked forwards and put reassuring hands on each of his shoulders, and he stopped.

"Sora, Goofy, V," Donald started to say. But then he quacked in surprise as he observed in front of them.

In front of them, over the ledge was still Maleficent's old headquarters, but now they could actually see the ground around it on the bottom.

"Man, we did a really thorough job," Vanitas commented as they all walked to the edge and observed what was in front of them.

"What's goin' on?" Goofy asked.

"Way to fall right into their trap," a voice commented.

They turned around to see a red haired man in an Organization coat leaning against a wall of rock next to the path out of the Dark Depths. Vanitas gasped in recognition at the sight of his old friend. Axel just frowned at them with his arms crossed, not even emoting to Vanitas. Being as prejudiced to Nobodies as they were, Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran forwards with their weapons and stood in their battle stances.

"Wait!" Vanitas announced, stepping next to his friends and putting up hands towards them and Axel. "Calm down."

Axel stood up straight.

"C'mon, it's a set-up by Organization XIII," he said as he started walking towards them. Xemnas is using you to destroy the Heartless... that's his big master plan."

That legitimately confused them.

"Organization XIII wants to get rid of the Heartless?" Goofy asked after a second, stepping out of his battle stance.

"Man, you're slow," Axel commented.

"You never noticed that at Castle Oblivion?" Vanitas asked with a slight smile.

"Good point," Axel admitted with a slight smile. He then pointed to the Keyblade in Sora's hands. "Every Heartless slain with that Keyblade releases a captive heart. That is what the Organization is after."

"So what are those guys gonna do with the hearts?" Donald asked.

"I'm not telling," Axel told them.

"Tell us!" Donald snapped.

"You..." Sora said. "You're the one who kidnapped Kairi!"

"Bingo," Axel said. During his next words he pointed at himself with his thumb. "The name's Axel." He pointed to his temple with his other hand and asked, "Got it memorized?"

"Where is Kairi?" Sora asked, desperately. Axel scratched the side of his head. "Please, tell me!"

After a second, Axel looked up.

"Look, about Kairi..." he said before looking at them. "I'm sorry."

Vanitas could actually hear the sincerity in his friend's voice. He was about to move forwards when a familiar voice called out, "Axel!"

Darkness surged in front of them, and once it faded, Saïx stood facing Axel.

"Uh-oh!" Axel exclaimed in fear.

Darkness started surging around Axel. Sora ran forwards to try to stop him, but Saïx held out an arm to stop the brunette.

"We'll ensure he receive the maximum punishment," Saïx told them as the darkness finished surging, making Axel disappear.

"Over my dead body," Vanitas remarked.

"That can be arranged," Saïx said, looking over at the ravenette.

"You do remember who ended up winning both times we've fought, right?" Vanitas countered with a smile.

"I don't care about any of that!" Sora snapped at everyone as he looked up at Saïx. "Just let me into the realm of darkness, okay!?"

"Again, we haven't seen or heard any actual confirmation that that's where Kairi or Riku are," Vanitas reminded him. *** _2_ ***

"If it's Kairi you're worried about, don't," Saïx told him. "We're taking very good care of her."

"Like you took care of Xion?" Vanitas countered, despair in his voice over his lost friend.

Saïx just frowned at Vanitas and looked back at Sora.

"Take me to her," Sora insisted.

"Is she that important to you?" Saïx asked with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Yeah," Sora confirmed. "More than anything."

"Show me how important," Saïx told him.

"Show me the number of a good law enforcement officer," Vanitas commented with crossed arms. "That's usually not something a grown man should say to a teenager."

Sora, thankfully, didn't actually do anything of _that_ calibre. But, they were still surprised when he got down on his hands and knees and looked directly at the ground.

"Please," he begged.

"So, you really do care for her," Saïx assessed. "In that case... the answer's no."

Sora jumped back up onto his feet and backed up.

"You rotten...!" he snapped.

"Can't say I'm surprised," Vanitas admitted, pulling out his machete.

"Are you angry?" Saïx asked, impassively. "Do you hate me? Then take that rage, and direct it at the Heartless."

He snapped his fingers, and Armored Knights appeared behind him. The others got out their weapons, and they stood in their battle stances. Saïx then held out his arms and looked up.

"Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts," he monologued. "And yet, they know not the true power of what they hold. The rage of the Keyblade releases those hearts. They gather in darkness, masterless and free... until they weave together to make Kingdom Hearts... And when that time comes, we can truly, finally exist."

During the last bit, he looked directly at the quartet again.

"What in the world do you think you're prattling on about?" Maleficent's voice asked.

The boys looked behind themselves to see the evil fairy appearing in a flash of green and black fire behind them.

"Kingdom Hearts belongs to me!" she announced. "The heart of all kingdoms, the heart of all that lives. A dominion fit to be called Kingdom Hearts must be _my_ dominion!"

She raised up her arms in eagerness at that.

"Maleficent, no!" Sora denied. "No more Heartless!"

"I do not take orders from you!" Maleficent snapped at him.

"We've beaten you in battle three times, and destroyed every Heartless you sent at us," Vanitas reminded her. "We could just tell Thanos where you are and let him take care of you for us..."

Maleficent actually gained a look of fear, then raised her arms again. Soldiers then surrounded Saïx.

"Fool..." Saïx said.

He snapped his fingers again, and Dusks appeared behind each Soldier. They slashed forwards all at once, taking out the Heartless in one move. Sora's jaw dropped before the Dusks turned towards them.

"Oh, no!" he exclaimed and covered his face as he prepared to block.

After a second, he opened his eyes and watched with his friends as Maleficent appeared in between them and the Nobodies. She then held out her arms, and green fire appeared in front of them, blocking them from the fairy and the Nobodies.

"While I keep these creatures at bay, you devise a way to vanquish them, forever!" Maleficent instructed them.

"Maleficent," Sora said.

"This is a surprise," Vanitas commented, as the Dusks stretched out their limbs to try to hold down Maleficent in place.

"Do not misunderstand me," Maleficent told them. "I shall have my revenge on you yet."

More Nobodies lunged forward, tackling her down.

"Maleficent!" Sora called out.

"Leave! Now!" Maleficent told them.

"I don't take orders from you!" Sora snapped as he tried to move forwards.

"Dude, might be beneficial to this time," Vanitas commented as he and Donald stopped the brunette in his tracks.

"Sora, c'mon!" Donald announced.

"But, what about..." Sora said, looking towards the fire barrier.

They all looked to see the fire fading, and the Dusks still there. There was a large pile of them on the ground, where they had tackled Maleficent, but they could tell that she was gone.

"Now then," Saïx said. "Where did we leave off?"

He snapped his fingers again, and to Sora's surprise the Nobodies disappeared, and Heartless reappeared. The quartet stood in their battle stances as they were quickly surrounded by Heartless.

"Which side are you guys on, anyway?" Sora snapped at the Heartless.

"The Heartless ally with whoever's the strongest," Saïx told them.

He held out an arm to Sora, and two Armored Knights lunged at him. Instinctively, Sora slashed through the Knights, destroying them and releasing the hearts up into the air. Saïx smiled at the sight.

"Yes, Sora!" he encouraged. "Extract more hearts!"

Darkness surged around Saïx, making him disappear. The four backed up so they were back to back to back to back, while the hearts disappeared into darkness above them. Sora looked up in anguish at the sight.

"No! The Hearts!" he exclaimed.

He then held up his Keyblade to block an Armored Knight's blade, and they all blocked as the Heartless got closer and closer.

"Maybe everything we've done..." Sora said. "Maybe it was all for nothing. What am I supposed to do if I can't use the Keyblade!?" He pushed the Armored Knight's blade off with his Keyblade.

"Imbeciles!" Maleficent's voice announced, making them look around in confusion. "You can't be trusted to do anything!"

"You're figuring that out now!?" Vanitas snapped.

Darkness then suddenly appeared on the ground below them, and they all exclaimed as they sunk down into the darkness, and out of consciousness.

* * *

Sora and Vanitas came to in a large area of complete blackness. They pushed themselves to their feet and looked around, quickly spotting Donald and Goofy walking towards them.

"What's this place?" Goofy asked as they stopped.

"It must be the Realm of Darkness!" Sora suggested eagerly.

"Or some variation," Vanitas commented. "This is very different from what I've heard."

Sora ignored him as he turned around and shouted, "Kairi! Riku!"

"Dude, for the last time, I'm pretty sure your girlfriend and best friend aren't here," Vanitas told him.

They all looked around, and Sora had to do his best to hide his blush from Vanitas's words. Donald quacked, and they followed his gaze towards a man in a black coat holding a white box.

 _'Well, I has half wrong...'_ Vanitas thought, recognizing the man's build with that of the affected Riku's.

"Who's there!?" Donald snapped.

He ran forwards as darkness surged, making the man disappear. The box landed pretty safely on the ground. The other three walked over as Donald picked up the box.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Are ya sure you wanna open..." Goofy started to say as Donald opened the box, revealing a picture and a bar of Sea Salt Ice Cream. "That?"

Donald took out the picture and handed it to Sora. He and Vanitas observed it, and Vanitas had to hold back a gasp. It was an altered picture of the trio from Twilight Town, with Roxas included in it, making him look like he was their friend. This picture was no doubt from the digital Twilight Town that DiZ had set up, because he remembered seeing his blonde friend observing it in his visions.

"Gawrsh, it's the gang from Twilight Town," Goofy observed. "There's Hayner, Pence, Olette, and, uh, um..."

"Roxas," Sora answered.

"You know him?" Donald asked.

"No..." Sora said. "The name just popped into my head... This is Roxas."

Vanitas's heart melted at the sight of his old friend. He still missed him, and seeing Sora figure out about him just made it a bit harder.

Donald just frowned as he held the ice cream in his hand. He raised it up to his mouth.

"Are ya sure you wanna eat..." Goofy started to say as Donald took a bite of the ice cream. "That?"

"Salty..." Donald started to say as he held out the bar. "No... sweet!"

To his surprise, the bar glowed with light and floated up into the air. Sora was also surprised, the fact that they had seen this same exact thing happen over a dozen times now completely slipping his mind. The Keyblade appeared in his hand, and he moved into place.

Light then gathered in a large, see through sphere at the end, and then the design of a crown appeared where Sora was standing in light. The light blew up wind around him that transformed his surroundings into an area of clouds with light shining through all around him. Light then shot out of the ice cream bar and up into the air, which formed a Keyhole. Sora jumped back, swung his Keyblade around and pointed it at the Keyhole. A circle appeared around the end, and a beam shot out and into the Keyhole. The Keyhole was then covered in light which engulfed everything before fading completely, returning Sora's surroundings to normal.

"Not yet!" Sora denied. "I gotta look for Kairi!"

"Dude, she's not here!" Vanitas reminded him. "The Realm of Darkness was a bust. Now let's go and actually look for her in a place she might really be."

Sora stared at Vanitas, then looked down and dismissed the Keyblade.

"You're right," Sora agreed. "Still..."

Light then gathered around them, blinding them all for a bit.

* * *

Outside of the mountains, back on a part of the ground of the Bailey, Leon, Cloud, and Stitch were staring out at the complex that used to be Maleficent's, knowing that their friends were still out there. Light then suddenly started to appear around the complex, which grew brighter for the second.

"Sora! V! Donald! Goofy!" Leon called out, worried.

"V and Frens!" Stitch called out in worry.

"Relax," Cloud calmly told them. "Those four aren't going down that easily." He turned and started walking back into town. "The Keyblades' chosen ones... They sure are lucky kids."

Leon and Stitch watched him go, then they looked back over at Maleficent's complex in the distance. A beam of light then flew up in the center, going up into the air. Somehow, they just knew that their friends were connected to it.

"See you soon," Leon promised.

"Soon," Stitch agreed.

Leon looked down from the beam to Stitch.

"So, you're really gonna stick around?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Stitch told him, nodding his head.

"Well, I guess we could use a cute face as out mascot," Leon admitted.

Stitch cheered and climbed up Leon onto his shoulder, smiling widely.

"You don't have a special diet, do you?" Leon asked as he started walking after cloud back into town. "'Cause we don't have any alien food..."

* * *

When their vision came back, the group found themselves back in the Gummi Ship, right in their individual seats.

"A photo and some ice cream?" Goofy asked as he scratched his head in thought. "Hmm. Wonder if they're some sorta clue. And who woulda left 'em for us, anyway?"

"Riku?" Sora suggested.

"Ya think?" Goofy asked.

"It's a possibility," Vanitas said, remembering his promise not to say anything.

"Part of this feeling I got," Sora admitted.

"Look!" Donald announced, gesturing to a point on the computer that looked like a particularly important world.

"Hey, what if the Heartless are back again?" Sora asked. "I can't use the Keyblade; that would only help the Organization."

"But Sora, I think ya have to use it," Goofy pointed out. "If we don't fight 'em, the Heartless'll keep on hurting folks."

"That's why we have to take the fight directly to the Organization," Vanitas announced. "We can't _just_ take out their minions while they keep on wreaking havoc. We have to find them and take them on directly. And I'd like to explain how we can do that, except..."

He didn't even get to finish as another wave of exhaustion came over him, and he fell out of his chair, passing out on the floor. But the others knew that he was right. They couldn't just fight off the Heartless and Nobodies while the Organization kept spreading darkness throughout the worlds.

While fighting the Heartless, they also had to find the Organization's base.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Haven't had Vanitas's team attack show up since way back in Makes a New Friend, in the mission where Roxas and Xion combined their missions in Twilight Town, and they fought the Avalanche. We were due for seeing it again
> 
> *2 Sora wanting to go to the realm of darkness, suddenly being convinced that that's where Riku and Kairi were was kind of random in the game. Feels like they just added that to give him more motivation, as if he actually needed any more. Someone in the group had to be the reasonable one in that situation to point that out for him
> 
> A little sad that the arc is now over. But now the next focus is getting past the last few Disney Worlds, and getting to the World That Never Was, where the next epic arc can take place. I'm gonna do my best to make it awesome


	21. Cloaked Figures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During their search, the group goes back to the Land of Dragons. Things don't go that well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now begins the final stretch for the Disney Worlds. They are fun to do, but, I just wanna get to the main part, cause if you've been paying attention to the other notes, then you've seen my teases about something pretty big happening to Vanitas in this story, which Celene has already correctly guessed when it happens. We'll get there soon enough...

The first world on their radar was once again the Land of the Dragons. Once they managed to wake Vanitas up, they disembarked from the ship and found themselves in the charred remains of the village that Shan-Yu had destroyed.

"They still haven't begun rebuilding?" Vanitas asked. "I'm pretty sure they don't need building permits since we already know what the village had looked like."

They walked through the snow, looking around for any signs of life.

"I wonder how everybody's doin'," Goofy commented.

Donald stopped in place, and went wide eyed.

"Look!" he announced, pointing next to the exit of the village.

They followed his gaze towards a tall man in an Organization XIII coat. The man looked at them, then turned and started running towards the mountains. Vanitas's eyes widened as he recognized the man based off of his build.

 _Riku!_ Vanitas thought at the same time Sora exclaimed, "Wait!"

Sora started to run a bit, but then stopped at the sound of a familiar female voice.

"Sora!" Mulan called out.

They looked back to see said woman running towards them, then stop and put her hands on her knees in exhaustion.

"Mulan, hey," Sora greeted. "No time to talk." He looked over his shoulder and pointed with his thumb. "We gotta catch that guy."

Mulan stood up and walked towards them.

"I'm following him, too!" she told them.

"Then let's go!" Donald announced.

"Let's... kick some ass!" Vanitas announced, a little nervous.

He knew that Riku was doing his best to remain hidden, so he wondered how things were gonna go if they actually caught up to him and actually managed to unmask him. He was starting to think he should stop keeping secrets from his friends. Even when his other friends made him promise not to say anything to the them.

The group moved on up into the mountain overpass, looking around for what most of them guessed was their adversary. Mulan took notice to Riku. She got Sora and Vanitas's attentions, and they watched as the changed, hooded teen ran up the mountain towards the summit. They kept moving up into the summit, and looked around to see nobody anywhere around the mountain top.

"Looks like he got away," Mulan commented.

Vanitas sighed in relief at that motion.

"How come you're after somebody from Organization XIII?" Goofy asked her.

"What is that?" Mulan asked.

"The guy in black," Sora told her.

"Actually, that guy wasn't a member," Vanitas admitted. "I've seen all the people in the group personally, and seen all their body builds. Nobody is shaped like that guy."

"Then what's with the coat?" Donald asked.

"The coats have power in them to protect people as they go through the dark realm," Vanitas informed them. "Why do you think Mickey wore one?"

"Oh..." Sora, Donald, and Goofy said at once in slight understanding.

"Not... exactly why I'm here," Mulan informed them. "There's a rumor in the Imperial City about a spy in black, lurking in the mountains. I've been up here tracking him, but when you arrived, I lost him."

Sora and Goofy gained embarrassed expressions.

"Sorry!" Goofy said, looking down.

"Don't apologize," she assured him with a smile. "But I do wonder where he went."

They continued looking around, but their attentions were soon drawn to the circular area high above them from before. Like before, Rapid Thrusters started popping up at the edge, with their intent clear. *** _1_ ***

"Again?" Donald asked with a depressed expression after his shock disappeared.

The group took out their weapons as the Rapid Thrusters flew towards them, just like before.

"Okay, first thing's first!" Sora announced.

They started running forwards, but then Sora and Vanitas stopped when they realized there was a presence nearby. While Donald, Goofy, and Mulan continued charging towards the oncoming Rapid Thrusters, they turned around to see Riku staring at them, still concealed in his coat.

"Hey! You!" Sora snapped, pointing his Keyblade, not knowingly, at his friend. "Quit sneaking around!"

"You're not really helping your cover!" Vanitas remarked, gesturing with his fire axe.

Riku pointed past them, they turned around, and gasped at the sight of the Rapid Thrusters closing in. Sora slashed through one easily with his Keyblade, and they turned towards Riku as the Thrusters kept flying around over their heads. Riku summoned his sword, Soul Eater, and stood in his battle stance.

Sora rushed in and attacked with a combo while also dodging as Riku slashed with his sword and only hit a Rapid Thruster. Vanitas twirled his axe in preparation and swung at Riku, trusting that the changed teen was under the protection of the same spell that protected the Nobodies from his weapons. Riku still dodged, and Vanitas's axe only ended up destroying a Thruster. Sora did another combo attack, using a finisher that sent him into the air, then used his second jump to get out of the way as Riku slashed his blade once again, once again only hitting Rapid Thrusters.

They dodged it as Riku slashed and lunged forwards with his sword, before Vanitas hit Riku in the head with the opposite end of his axe. The Rapid Thrusters came down closer, so Sora used an attack called Aero Blade to attack both them and Riku at the same time. He then slid out of the way as Riku lunged forwards with his sword again. They both then had to dodge as Riku stabbed his sword into the ground, sending dark energy out in a line in front of him.

Vanitas then got behind Riku and kicked him behind his knee, forcing him to drop a bit. He then delivered a roundhouse right next to Riku's head, and the changed boy backed up to get away. He directed his next few sword slashes and lunges towards Vanitas, who dodged with cartwheels and backflips. While that happened, Sora did some more combo attacks and used Aero Blade a few more times against Riku, causing quite a bit of damage.

Riku then slashed with his sword, causing many slashed around him, that only took out some Rapid Thrusters. He then launched out multiple bursts of Dark Fire, which homed in on Sora, so he used Reflect to block. Vanitas then got in close again and used the side of his axe as a mallet to hit Riku in the side of the head, and Sora followed up with a full aerial combo, that included the multiple slashes that looked awesome.

Sora then landed on the ground next to Vanitas, facing away from Riku. They looked around to see that the Rapid Thrusters were all gone, which confused them a bit. Curious, they turned around and saw Riku standing there. He gestured with his empty right hand and started running down the summit. They started following, putting away their weapons, but then stopped as the brunette looked down in thought.

"That guy..." Sora said in thought as they looked around. "No... Why... would he?" He reached out a hand. "Riku?"

He started running towards the path down again.

"Sora!" Vanitas called out as he ran towards his friend.

They stopped in front of the pathway that led back down the mountain, with Vanitas putting a sympathetic hand on his friend's shoulder when he saw the concern on the younger brunette's face. Donald and Goofy walked towards them, having finished off the Rabid Thrusters with Mulan.

"Are you okay, Sora?" Donald asked.

"Did you get 'im?" Goofy asked, looking around Vanitas to Sora's face.

"Hmm," Sora said. "Oh... he's gone."

"What!?" Donald asked, jumping up in surprise as the two turned to face their other friends. "You lost him?"

"Guy's got longer legs than us, what do you expect?" Vanitas asked.

"That's fair," Donald admitted, sighing out.

Sora still had a hand on the back of his head in embarrassment, though. He looked over at Mulan then at his other friends.

"Anyway... what now?" Sora asked.

"Well, all the Heartless are gone, so maybe we can..." Goofy started to say.

He was interrupted as the entire mountain then suddenly shook.

"What was that?" Mulan asked. She then looked to the boys. "Come on, we better get off the mountain."

"Okay," Sora agreed.

They started walking down the path once again, and Sora looked over his shoulder towards the summit once again. Vanitas placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and dragged him back down the mountain with the others.

"Whoever it was is gone," Vanitas reminded him. "We can go now."

Sora agreed after a second, so Vanitas let a hand off his shoulder as they continued down the mountain. They stopped in the path down when the mountain shook once again. They looked around in confusion, but their attentions were drawn up to the tallest mountain as what sounded like an explosion happened. A giant Heartless Vanitas sensed was called a Storm Rider burst out of the snow and into the open air.

Everyone got out their weapons in preparation, but the Heartless ignored them entirely. The Storm Rider instead flew over them and towards the Imperial City far in the distance.

"It's heading for the city!" Mulan announced, pointing up at the Heartless. "We've got to warn Shang!"

They ran down the mountain as Vanitas gripped his head in preparation for a vision. He saw the main room of the Emperor's palace, with Shang being thrown to the ground by Riku, still wearing his cloak. Riku dismissed his sword and turned towards the Emperor, who frowned at him.

The group fought through Heartless as they made their way down the mountain and across the land towards the City. They entered the Imperial Square, and were surprised to see nothing out of the ordinary.

"Huh?" Sora asked as they looked around. "Everything's fine."

"We ran, and that thing flew," Vanitas commented. "How in the hell did we beat it here?"

"Well, now..." a familiar voice called out.

They turned to the left to see their soldier friends, Lao, Ling, and Chien-Po, walking towards them. *** _2_ ***

"Look who decided to show up," Lao commented.

"Nice to see you, too," Vanitas sarcastically greeted, still a little tempted to blacken the man's other eye, too.

"Is that a problem?" Donald asked Lao.

"Nah!" Ling assured them.

"We're just glad you're not in black cloaks," Chien-Po informed them.

"You saw him?" Mulan asked in shock.

"Yeah," Lao confirmed, looking towards the palace. "He's in the palace."

They turned towards the palace, and Mulan led the way towards the building. Of course, they were soon stopped by an Assault Rider suddenly appearing in front of them, soon followed by four Bolt Towers.

"This party's just getting crazy," Vanitas commented, placing a boom box on the ground and pulling out a Mossberg 500 shotgun with a pistol grip.

He kicked the boom box, and it started playing the Powerman 5000's When World's Collide. Deciding that was good enough, Vanitas blasted one of the Bolt Towers with his gun while Sora and Mulan attacked the Assault Rider. Mulan lunged forwards with fire around her, while Sora did a combo attack that involved blocking with Reflect. Sora used a Finisher to knock it in the air while Goofy threw his shield and Donald blasted Blizzard at the other Bolt Towers. Vanitas kept firing his shotgun at the enemies, while Sora finished off the Assault Rider.

Mulan kept flying around surrounded in fire around the Bolt Towers, while Goofy did his best to dodge the shockwaves on the ground provided by the Bolt Towers. Two more Assault Riders had appeared in the madness, so Vanitas and Donald directed their blasts towards them. Sora then got picked up by one Bolt Tower's electricity, but he managed to slash with his Keyblade to get out of it, which caused the electricity to knock back all the enemies. Vanitas then blasted large fireballs towards the Bolt Towers, successfully destroying one of them.

Sora and Goofy used their attacks to finish off one of the Assault Riders, and Vanitas helped them destroy the other one with a one handed blast from his shotgun. They then turned their attentions to the remaining Bolt Towers. After a few attacks, Goofy finished one off with his shield, Sora finished the other off with an aerial combo, and Mulan finished off the last one with her sword.

They regrouped pretty soon after the Heartless were all destroyed.

"To the palace!" Mulan instructed. "Hurry!"

The boys nodded their heads in agreement and ran up the steps with her towards the palace gates. They reached the gates, and were dismayed to find that they were locked.

"Open up!" Sora exclaimed, pounding it to try to get attention inside.

"We need to talk to the Emperor!" Vanitas added as they all pounded on the door. "There's a giant monster flying right towards the city... Oh, my god, we sound crazy. No wonder they're not letting us in."

They kept pulling at the handles in an attempt to open the door, but got nowhere with their tugs. Mulan looked around for another way to get inside, and her attention was drawn to a pillar that led up to an upper rafter into the room.

"Over here!" she announced, getting the boys' attentions.

They followed her over to the pillar, and Vanitas smirked.

"Luckily I've still got these," he announced, gesturing to his ankles.

They followed his gaze down to see the rockets that Peter Quill had loaned him still attached to his pants.

"You stole those from Quill?" Goofy asked.

"He never asked for them back," Vanitas defended himself. He pointed down at the rockets. "He brought this on himself!"

"I don't understand," Mulan said. "How is this a good thing?"

"This is how," Vanitas said.

He pressed the buttons, and the rockets ignited, taking him up in the air. Going two at a time, Vanitas gripped Sora and Goofy by the backs of their ships and flew them up to the rafters. He then floated back down and did the same thing with Mulan and Donald, taking them up to the rafters. He then turned the rockets off and joined his friends in the small chamber that led into the palace. *** _3_ ***

"Okay, that was a good plan," Sora admitted.

"Just like Kevin Bacon at the end of Tremors," Vanitas smirked.

Everyone narrowed their eyes in confusion at him.

"Ever since we parted from the Guardians, I haven't been able to get Kevin Bacon off my mind," Vanitas admitted as they walked down the rafters. "Damn you, Quill."

They walked through the dark chamber of the rafters, coming out into the entrance hall of the palace. They jumped down and landed pretty easily. Except for Donald, who tripped, but got up like nothing happened. They looked in front of them to see the doors to the throne room in front of them, and a man in an Organization cloak staring at them. They ran forwards to the center of the room, towards the man.

"Wait!" Mulan called out.

The man that Vanitas figured through his build was Xigbar winced at being caught. He turned towards them as they had their weapons out in their battle stances. Sora then stepped out of it and forwards slightly.

"...Riku?" he asked desperately.

This caused Donald and Goofy to exclaim in confusion as they looked at each other.

"He really is an idiot," Vanitas muttered in annoyance.

To Sora's disdain, Xigbar removed his hood to reveal his grey and black hair in a ponytail and eyepatched, scarred face.

"No," Xigbar denied. "Never heard of him."

Vanitas gripped his katana in both hands as he and the others stood in their battle stances in preparation for Sniper Nobodies to surround them. Sora looked towards the doors to see Xigbar gone, but his and Vanitas's attentions were at the exit doors as the man ran away. They shrugged it off and stood back in their battle stances.

Sora started a combo attack on one Sniper just as Dusks appeared at the same time. Mulan did her attack again of flying around covered in fire while Goofy swung his shield at enemies, and Donald blasted Thunder and Blizzard. Vanitas used his katana to parry the attacks of the Snipers with their crossbows, then delivered his own sword strikes. Sora then blocked an attack of the Snipers surrounding them and rush in with Reflect, causing the small explosions to counteract and damage them.

This damaged the Snipers enough for the others to finish them off, even as they tried firing familiar to Vanitas red dart like projectiles. Sora knocked the dart back into one, Vanitas slashed through the other, Donald blasted fire at the third, and Mulan slashed with her own sword through the last one. The Snipers were gone, and they turned their attentions to the remaining Dusks as Goofy spun around in circles to attack them.

Sora used both a ground then an aerial combo attack against the Dusks while Donald jumped up and smacked one in the face with his staff. Mulan and Vanitas slashed at the Dusks with their blades, and pretty soon they were gone. Then, six more Snipers appeared and immediately started shooting the red darts. Sora was able to get rid of them with Reflect and use the mini explosions.

He then started the team attack with Mulan that Vanitas joined in on. They repeatedly charged at the Nobodies with fire around them, knocking them through the air repeatedly, before they knocked them to the side and Mushu and Vanitas launched a lot of fire into the air. The heroes landed on the ground while the Snipers continued to float in the air as fire flew down, which destroyed the last of the Snipers and ended the fight.

The boys gathered together as Sora crossed his arms in thought.

"Guess it wasn't Riku," Goofy commented.

"No, that was Xigbar," Vanitas told them. "One of the older members of the Organization. Kind of an asshole."

"Sorry, Sora," Mulan told him, getting the brunette's attention. "I can't stay. I'm worried about Shang."

"Oh! Right!" Sora exclaimed in remembrance.

Once again, Mulan led the way through the Antechamber and into the Throne Room. They ran up the stairs and stopped in front of the throne. The Emperor was calmly sitting on his throne with Captain Shang standing to the side.

"Your Excellency!" Mulan greeted in fear. "Shang! Something terrible has happened! We saw a huge monster fly out of the mountains and towards the city!"

Donald and Vanitas nodded their heads to confirm her words.

"Ahh," the Emperor sighed out. "So it is as the young man said. Isn't that right, Captain?"

"Y-yes, Your Excellency," Shang said with slight embarrassment.

"You see, a young stranger visited us not long ago," the Emperor told them. "The Captain fought the visitor, but was quickly defeated."

"To my dishonor," Shang said, looking down.

"It seems that the young man was the one in black that I have heard whispers about," the Emperor commented.

"Well, we just met a second guy in black, so..." Vanitas said.

"Did the one you met mention the name Riku?" Sora asked.

"He didn't offer his name," the Emperor admitted. "He was rather rude."

"That sounds like Riku," Vanitas smirked.

"Exactly," Sora agreed with hope in his voice. "It was him!"

"You said the cloak was to protect him from darkness?" Donald asked Vanitas.

"Yeah, apparently," Vanitas said. "I mean, not everyone who wears that coat isn't a bad guy, you know?"

Donald and Goofy didn't say anything and looked down in embarrassment.

"You guys are assholes for assuming everyone who wears that coat is a bad guy," Vanitas reprimanded them.

"But why would your friend come here?" Mulan asked Sora.

Sora crossed his arms in thought.

"Maybe he was checking out the situation with the Heartless," Vanitas suggested. "I mean, he probably sensed that there was one in the mountains and was checking out the situation to warn..."

He was cut off by the entire palace shaking, making everyone look around in surprise.

"I'll check outside," Mulan announced to Shang and the Emperor.

"We'll go with her," Vanitas announced, slipping out an M79 grenade launcher and attaching it to his back in preparation.

They turned and started towards the stairs, but Shang called out, "Mulan!"

They turned back towards the Captain.

"Shang, guard the Emperor!" Mulan instructed him. "I'll be fine, with them!"

"Yeah, Heartless are kind of our specialty," Vanitas commented.

"Th-that's right!" Sora agreed with some nervousness.

"Indeed," the Emperor agreed. "That is true: We need not worry while you protect us."

Shang turned to face the Emperor in front of him.

"Hurry!" Donald instructed the group.

They ran out of the room and across the Antechamber to the palace doors out. Mulan cautiously pushed open the door, and exclaimed in surprise as she found herself face to face with the Storm Rider. Sora gave her a reassuring nod and they ran out of the doors.

They ran into the Imperial Square as the Storm Rider flew over it. The group stood in their battle stances, with Vanitas wielding his sledgehammer. Uncertainty grew on their faces as they watched the Heartless take notice of them and fly down towards them. They scattered to the sides so it didn't hurt them.

Luckily, the Heartless remained close to the ground for a little while, so Sora led the others to the tail, where they climbed on. With great difficulty, they climbed up the tail and onto the back, ready for the fight. Vanitas sensed that the weak spots were the large horns on its head, and breaking the ones on its shoulders would help incapacitate it.

The first thing happened was Sora and Vanitas held on to the thorns on the Storm Rider's back as the Heartless tried flipping in the air to throw them off. The others fell to the ground while Sora and Vanitas stayed in place. Once the Heartless stopped, they let go before it could follow it up with Thunder attacks. They then started attacking the horns on the Heartless's shoulders, while Mulan flew up and attacked the Heartless's head.

With Sora attacking with his Keyblade and Vanitas with his sledgehammer, they destroyed the thorns, which made the Storm Rider fall to the ground. Sora jumped up and used aerial combos against the thorns, then Vanitas grabbed the grenade launcher and fired, causing an explosion. Sora then started the team attack with Mulan that Vanitas joined in on. With Mushu, they launched out lots of fireballs. Then they repeatedly charged at the head and the thorns while covered in fire. Then Vanitas and Mushu shot a bunch of fire in the air, and the three landed on the ground as the fire came down and hit the Storm Rider's head, just as it was waking up.

Sora was able to do another aerial combo against the horns before it released a cyclone of wind that knocked them all back. The Storm Rider floated up again, and Vanitas fired his grenade launcher again, once again causing an explosion at the horns. It continued flying up, and they all had to dodge as Thunder attacked them again. The Heartless then held out its wings so they were perpendicular with its body and sent out lots of small bits of electricity in an attack. They kept dodging the attacks before Vanitas engaged his rockets again. He picked up Sora and Donald and flew with them onto the Storm Rider's back.

Sora started with the combo attacks against one horn while Vanitas and Donald swung their weapons against the other, while Goofy threw his shield at the horns from the ground. After dodging more Thunder attacks, they destroyed the horns and sent the Storm Rider to the ground again. After swings from Vanitas's sledgehammer and aerial combos from Sora, the brunette started the team attack with the Mulan again. Like before, Vanitas launched out fireballs with Mushu, then they repeatedly charged at the horns covered in fire, then Vanitas and Mushu launched fire in the air which came down to attack while they landed on the ground.

They kept up their attacks against the head, Sora with his aerial combos, Vanitas with his sledgehammer, Donald with his staff, Mulan with flying around covered in fire, and Goofy throwing his shield. The Storm Rider then sent out another cyclone to knock them away, which damaged Goofy and Donald a bit, while the others dodged it. The Heartless flew up into the air again, sending out Thunder again which they had to dodge. The Storm Rider then faced them and started flying towards them over the ground. Sora and Vanitas slid under it and started attacking with their weapons, doing quite a bit of damage as they knocked it into the air. The two landed on the ground, and the Storm Rider landed behind them hard, stunned.

Sora then ignited Master Form, taking up Mulan and Goofy. Oathkeeper appeared in his other hand and his clothes gained a yellow makeover. Sora started the wicked looking combo attacks while the others continued attacking, Vanitas with his sledgehammer and Donald with his staff. The Storm Rider soon recovered and flew up into the air. After sending down Thunder to attack, the Heartless landed on the bridge next to the Square, and electric walls appeared far on the opposite sides.

The three ran towards the bridge and continued to attack the head while the electricity got closer and closer on each side, forming a trap. The Storm Rider then shot out lots of electricity in front of it, which they dodged by standing between the blast and the electric walls. Vanitas acted as a shield for Donald as random shots of electricity shot out and towards them, taking the brunt of the blasts for his friend. Sora was smart and used Reflect while he was in the air over the Storm Rider's head, causing the shields to send out the explosions when the electricity hit them.

All the electricity soon faded and the Storm Rider flew back up into the air. Vanitas picked up Donald, and Sora rode the winds, and together they managed to get up on the Storm Rider's back again as the time for Master Form ran out, making Mulan and Goofy appear on the back with them. They attacked, but then got hit with Thunder again, so Sora healed them all with Cura. Before they could break the thorns, though, the Storm Rider twirled in the air and made them all fall to the ground.

The group then had to dodge as the Storm Rider flew over them and dropped grey orbs with the Heartless insignia towards them. Sora and Vanitas then dodged out of the way as Thunder attacked them again. The Storm Rider then faced them and started flying towards them over the ground. The two lookalikes slid under it and started attacking with their weapons, doing quite a bit of damage as they knocked it into the air, ending the fight, and upgrading Sora's Thunder to Thundara. *** _4_ ***

The Storm Rider was still floating up in the air, but doing so pretty woozily since they had defeated it. The Heartless started spinning down as it fell, going right in a path that meant it would crush Mulan. The woman froze in fright as the boys moved quickly across the square towards her.

"Mulan!" Shang called out as he ran towards her more quickly.

He got down on his knees with her and moved in front to protect her from the Heartless. While it was still in the air, the crystal like heart flew out of the Heartless and out of sight, meaning it was already falling apart as it fell towards the two. Light faded, the Heartless body was gone, and the two were perfectly fine.

"Way to go!" Sora cheered.

"As if he couldn't make it more obvious," Vanitas quipped to his friends.

Mulan and Shang stood up holding hands and looking into each others' eyes with smiles on their faces. The others smiled at them knowingly, quickly garnering the two's attentions. Once they realized how close they were, they stepped away from each other and looked away, trying and failing to hide their embarrassment. Fireworks then suddenly went off over the palace, celebrating their job well done.

"Did they just have those prepared?" Vanitas asked with eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Pretty soon, they were back in the Emperor's chamber, standing in front of the man as he sat and looked at them, with Shang next to him also looking at them.

"Once again, you have served China well," the Emperor congratulated them. "It would please me to reward you. What is it that you wish?"

Donald clapped his hands together at the thought of wealth, while Goofy gripped his stomach in wonder. Vanitas looked up in wonder as he thought about what he wanted.

"Well..." Sora said in thought. "You say a guy in black came to see you. What did he say?"

"That is all you request?" the Emperor asked, slight confusion in his voice.

"Yes," Sora confirmed, and Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas looked down in disappointment.

' _We should stop letting him speak for us_ ,' Vanitas thought, which Donald and Goofy heard in their heads and immediately agreed with.

They looked back up as they admitted they were also curious.

"Dragons have crossed our land and left a great web of paths," the Emperor told them. "These dragons wield much power, and they are the source of many gifts to both man and nature. But it would seem someone of evil intent disturbed one of our dragons, and transformed it into what you call a Heartless."

"Xigbar," Vanitas assessed.

"It is my belief that this young man came to warn me of that danger," the Emperor continued. "Then, I could alert and prepare my troops."

"Did you?" Sora asked.

The Emperor chuckled.

"I was about to, but he told me the situation had changed," he admitted.

"He said four 'wise guys' had arrived, and they would take care of things," Shang informed them with a smile.

The boys exclaimed in surprise with smiles at that.

"That's gotta be Riku!" Sora exclaimed.

"Sure as hell sounds like him," Vanitas agreed.

"At least I finally know he's okay," Sora breathed out in relief. "That's good enough."

"Yeah, that's good!" Donald agreed.

"Now then, Fa Mulan," the Emperor said. "Do you have a request?"

"I'd like Shang... I-I mean, well... The Captain..." Mulan nervously started to say.

"Yes, yes, my dear," the Emperor assured her. "What is it?"

"Could the Captain have a vacation, please?" Mulan managed to get out.

Shang looked surprised at her request.

"Wow, she's not even trying to be subtle at this point," Vanitas quipped to his friends.

"I hardly expected such humble requests," the Emperor admitted as he stood up and started walking towards her. "In this case, I'm afraid I must refuse. Captain Li's responsibility is to protect the Emperor. And yet, Mulan..."

She stood at attention and asked, "Yes?"

"Would you like to serve alongside him and protect me?" the Emperor asked.

Both Mulan and Shang muttered confusion as the man turned back to face his throne.

"Two reeds together are stronger than one," the Emperor told them. "But the choice is yours alone."

He turned back to face them on the step his throne was one.

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" Mulan said with a slight bow.

Shang walked towards her and the two smiled at each other.

"Well, this was nice," Vanitas said with a smile. "You guys might not be subtle, but at least..."

He trailed off as he passed out and landed hard on the ground, surprising the people in the room of this world.

"That happens a lot," Sora assured them.

They helped the ravenette stand up as he re-awoke, and they stood smiling with their friends for a bit. After a little while, the Gummi quartet bid them goodbye and started their way back to the ship, ready for the next part of their adventure, and Vanitas's promise of Chinese food once they got back to the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 I decided to finally pull up a list of the Heartless names so that I don't have to constantly refer to them as "the (insert description here) Heartless." I'll go back and change a few things, like with the Morning Stars (giant spiked balls)
> 
> *2 I didn't remember their names until sometime after Chapter 10. I'll go back and fix that, too
> 
> *3 I always found it kind of unbelievable that they were able to Spider Man their way up that pillar with very little difficulty, so I corrected it. Besides, Vanitas needs to be able to fly, so he needs something that lets him
> 
> *4 The Reaction Command attack ends with the Storm Rider slamming to the ground, but since the cutscene after places it back in the air, I figured that wouldn't have made continuity sense, so I adjusted it
> 
> Checking the wiki for Heartless and Nobodies, I noticed that pretty much most of the Organization members have a kind of Nobody that is similar to them that follows their orders. Sorcerer is Xemnas, Sniper is Xigbar, Dragoon is Xaldin, Berserker is Saïx, Assassin is Axel, Dancer is Demyx, Gambler is Luxord, Reaper is Marluxia, Ninja is Larxene, and Samurai is Roxas. I never noticed some of them before. It's kind of cool. And kind of funny that Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion are the only members without Nobodies


	22. One Last Uninvited Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group meets up with a slightly older friend, then face off another Organization member...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "hurrying along through the story" thing actually gets problematic when most of the story is still pretty damn long. Bear with me, please, okay?

The next world the group made their way to ended up being Beast's Castle once again. They walked into the entrance hall to find the man in question pacing in front of the staircase, contemplative, while also wearing a pretty nice suit. Some of his mane on the back of his head was even tied back with a little blue bow.

"Hey, there!" Sora greeted.

Beast turned to face them as they walked up to greet him.

"You clean up nice," Vanitas complimented with a smile.

Donald looked around and announced, "No Heartless and no Nobodies!"

"I think they're close, though..." Goofy told his friend in a slight warning tone.

"Better watch out!" Sora warned.

Beast turned away from them and growled slightly.

"Uh... okay?" Vanitas asked with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Beast turned back to face them.

"What are you so mad about?" Donald asked.

"Why are you here?" Beast asked them instead.

"The Nobodies' world has to be out there somewhere," Sora informed him.

"They have this back exit on the world that can take them anywhere," Vanitas told Beast the same thing he had told his friends not long after he woke up after Hollow Bastion. "One of those idiots has to have left it open somewhere, so we're searching for it."

Beast turned away from them and simply said, "Hmph."

"Something tells me he interested in talking about this," Vanitas quipped.

Their attentions were drawn to the top of the staircase that led to the East Hall, where Belle was coming down. She had on her yellow Princess dress from Hollow Bastion, and a wide smile on her face. Beast walked up the stairs slightly before he looked over his shoulder at the boys.

"Tonight is very important," he simply told them.

"Oooh..." Vanitas said in a slightly feminine voice. He paused. "Where the fuck did that come from? Maybe the latent genes relating me to Jack..."

Belle smiled at the boys as she continued to walk down and met Beast in front of the doors to the ballroom. The two smiled and bowed at each other before she took Beast's arm, and he led her into the ballroom.

"Uh, maybe we came at a bad time," Goofy suggested.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Donald informed them.

The duck ran up the stairs towards the ballroom after the two.

"Donald!" Sora called out at the same time Vanitas called, "Donnie!"

They ran up the stairs after their friend and entered the ballroom, where they watched Belle and Beast walk into the center of the ballroom and stare deeply into each other's eyes. Their other friends were nearby watching them, as well.

"Now then, Monsieur, Mademoiselle," Lumiere announced. "Please, enjoy the evening."

They all turned to see the Gummi quartet in front of the doors, who waved to greet them.

"And of course, our honored guests are welcome, too," Lumiere added.

"A welcome indeed," a familiar voice commented.

Beast grabbed Belle to protect her as they looked around in worry. The group walked towards them, and Sora and Vanitas looked up to the top railings on top of the pillars to see Xaldin staring down at them.

"The Organization!" Sora exclaimed.

"Xaldin!" Vanitas added.

He remembered how Xaldin was also part of exposing him to Xemnas, which led to that mega multi-world battle, but also his cover being blown. With new anger towards his former apprentice-mate, Vanitas slipped out an SIG Sauer handgun and turned off the safety in preparation.

"You don't know when to quit," Xaldin commented.

"You're one to talk," Vanitas commented.

"We'll show you!" Donald remarked, he and Goofy summoning their weapons.

Beast stared up at the Organization member with them.

"Get out!" he exclaimed, running forwards to join the group.

"Not tonight!" Belle exclaimed in anger.

Xaldin snapped his fingers, and Nobodies appeared, including Dragoons. Beast easily dispatched with three Dragoons as he joined the off worlders, who had their weapons drawn.

"I've come to take something you hold very dear," Xaldin told Beast. Beast roared in anger at that claim. "Yes. Let your anger grow..."

Darkness surged around the man, making him teleport away once again.

"Beast!" Sora announced. "We have to get rid of these guys first!"

Somehow, Beast discarded the suit and was once again wearing his purple cape. Sora started a combo attack against a Dragoon while Vanitas fired at another with his handgun, and Beast roared out releasing energy to attack a Dusk. Goofy swung his shield while Donald jumped up and attacked with his staff. Two of the Dragoons then swung with their lances wickedly, knocking back Sora and Goofy. After evading attacks, Sora then started the team attack with Beast again, and the two of them and Vanitas released the energy lunged at the Nobodies in attacks repeatedly, taking out Nobodies along the way. After a little while, they released energy while Beast howled out once again, ending the attack and destroyed the remaining Nobodies, ending the fight.

With the enemies destroyed, the group gathered together in the center of the room once again.

"Where's Belle!?" Sora asked, worried.

"Over here!" said woman's voice called out.

They looked back to see Belle and the others walking through the doors to the balcony and towards them.

"Whew, she's okay," Sora breathed out in relief.

"Guess Xaldin didn't take anything after all," Goofy remarked.

Beast looked up in realization and started running towards the doors out of the room.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked after him.

Belle ran after Beast and out of the ballroom after Beast.

"Belle?" Sora asked. "What's with them?"

"I don't think that Belle was what Xaldin was talking about," Vanitas said. "The man's convinced that love is bullshit, so he probably never considered her."

"So you think there's something else precious to Beast?" Goofy asked.

"C'mon!" Donald announced.

They ran through the castle after the two through the West Hall and West Wing, right into Beast's room. There, they met up with Belle and found Beast pacing angrily in front of the step up into his balcony, anger on his face. He roared out, making the room shake a bit.

"What's wrong?" Belle asked before she walked over to the Beast with her hands up in an attempt at a calming gesture. "Please, calm down."

"Calm down!?" Beast exclaimed as he faced her and the boys walked over. "You just had to have a party, didn't you? Don't you see what happened?"

"Hey," Sora said in offense. "What's with you?"

"The rose..." Beast told them. "My rose..."

Their attentions were drawn to the now empty pedestal where the glass container of the rose used to be.

"What, that?" Sora asked. "He took it?"

"But surely, you can find another rose..." Belle tried reasoning with him.

"Silence!" Beast snapped while waving his arms in front of her. "You don't know anything!"

Sora and Vanitas moved in front of her and raised their arms in defense.

"That's not fair, Beast," Sora told him. "Don't take it out on Belle. It's not like she stole it!"

"Maybe explain a few things to us, and we can understand better," Vanitas suggested.

Beast sighed out and looked down while covering his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Belle softly said.

"You don't need to apologize," Sora told her, raising an arm to emphasize his point.

"But..." Belle said.

Beast looked down in sadness away from them.

"Belle... Sora..." he softly said. "I want you to leave the castle."

Belle looked shocked at the very suggestion.

"Look at me," Beast softly told them. "Look. This is what I am. When you first got here, I tried to change." He looked at his hands. "But I was only fooling myself. I can't be any different. I'll always be a beast. So, I should live like a beast. With no one, alone." He looked down and away from her. "Good-bye, Belle."

"You can't mean that..." Belle insisted.

Beast looked at her sadly once more before looking away again.

"Aw, I think his mind's all made up," Goofy softly whispered to Sora and Vanitas.

"No, it can't be..." Vanitas muttered back. ' _That's now how the movie ended..._ '

"Look, Belle," Sora assured her as she turned away from Beast. "Leave this to us. If we can get the Beast's rose back, he'll calm down."

Belle gave a single nod, looked over her shoulder at Beast one more time, then walked out of the room, soon followed by the boys.

"Poor child..." Mrs. Potts commented as they re-entered the West Wing.

Belle walked past them and out into the hallway while the boys walked up to the others.

"How could it have come to this?" Cogsworth asked.

"And they were so looking forward to this evening..." Lumiere added.

"Now, now, no need to be sad," Mrs. Potts assured them. "Once the rose is back safely, this will all be over."

"What's so special about one rose, anyway?" Sora asked.

"Did you really forget what they told us before we left last time?" Vanitas asked them.

"If the master can love and be loved in return, the spell will be broken," Cogsworth told them once again. "We'll all be human again."

"Yeah," Donald said. "You told us."

"But there is a time limit," Lumiere added. "He must find his true love before the last petal falls from that rose."

"Yeah, you told us that part, too," Vanitas told them before he looked at Sora, Donald and Goofy. "How did you guys forget _that_ part?"

' _I blame shitty writing,_ ' Vanitas thought.

"Ah, but that is not all..." Cogsworth announced. "Over time, caring for that rose has become a cherished part of the master's daily life."

"It's as though all his hopes and dreams are tied to that single bloom..." Mrs. Potts commented.

"Poor Beast!" Sora commented. "Then we have to get it back."

"Duh," Vanitas commented.

"Please do!" Mrs. Potts told them.

"We can't without the Beast, though," Sora admitted.

"Yeah, if it's that important to him, he's gotta do it himself," Vanitas added.

Donald and Goofy nodded their heads in agreement. They ran back into the Beast's room, and walked up to him as he continued staring at the empty pedestal.

"Hey, Beast," Sora greeted.

Beast softly sighed out, "Leave me alone."

"C'mon, you need to hear this," Sora told him. "You used to be fearless. You would have given your life to save Belle."

' _Both actually at Hollow Bastion and in illusion Hollow Bastion,_ ' Vanitas thought.

"Don't you know what that meant to us?" Sora asked. "You gave us all courage. Hmph, maybe you should have kept some for yourself. I mean, are you really gonna throw away your happiness away? The rose is your only hope, isn't it? Well, it's the only hope for Cogsworth and the others, too. So, don't throw away your last chance. Remember what it was like before Belle lived here?"

Beast looked up as if in thought of exactly that.

"See?" Sora asked him. "You can't give up. Not now."

"I know one thing," Beast told them. He turned to face them with angry determination. "This castle belongs to me. Xaldin will never be welcome here."

"Then let's go blast him a new one," Vanitas told him, pulling out his Seekins Precison AR-15 with the triangular barrel covering the muzzle.

The group went back through the castle into the entrance hall. As if on cue, that's where they found trouble.

"So Beast... you came after all," Xaldin commented.

They looked up onto the perch right above the doors to the ballroom, where said man stood staring down at them with the rose case in one hand.

"You had me worried," Xaldin admitted. "I was afraid you'd given up for good."

Beast growled at the sight of the man.

"What do you guys really want?" Sora asked.

"...Kingdom Hearts," Xaldin answered. He slipped his hood off, revealing his black dreadlocks and sideburns. "When Kingdom Hearts is complete, we can exist fully and completely."

Donald and Goofy looked at each other in thought at that, remembering Vanitas's words way back at Yen Sid's tower.

"So you see, Beast, that's why we need your Heartless _and_ your Nobody!" Xaldin snapped.

Vanitas cocked his rifle and aimed up at Xaldin. He disappeared, and Dragoons appeared in front of them. Vanitas fired his rifle at them while Sora slid in and used a combo attack against one. He then cast Magnet to pick them up, giving everyone easier targets. Vanitas fired his rifle, Donald blasted Thunder, Goofy threw his shield, and Beast slashed with his claws. After one was destroyed, Beast released energy with a roar, and the other two soon followed suit.

Dusks then appeared, and Donald immediately blasted them with Thunder. Sora used aerial combos against one while Beast charged at the other one. Goofy swung his shield against one while Vanitas fired his rifle at the other. Sora finished off the first one while Donald finished off the second by whacking it with his staff. Three Dragoons then appeared by slamming to the ground with harmful shockwaves that they managed to dodge.

One Dragoon flew at Vanitas, and he dropped his rifle and grabbed its lance. He lifted it up and swung the blade into the Nobody's chest, then did a few more slashes that soon destroyed it, also making the lance disappear. He picked his rifle back up and aimed it, but it clicked empty. Sora used aerial combos against the Dragoons, before Goofy and Beast finished off one with energy in a roar and a shield throw, and Donald finished off the other with Thunder.

With the Nobodies destroyed, Xaldin floated down in front of the exit doors, one of which was open. He gestured for them to follow him as he walked out, and the door shut.

"That's empty," Vanitas admitted, slipping his rifle back into his sling. He pulled out a PSE Fang 350 crossbow and some arrows. "Time for me to let out my inner Daryl." *** _1_ ***

They walked out into the empty courtyard and looked around for Xaldin, with Vanitas having raised his crossbow in preparation.

"Man, this guy was nowhere near this annoying back when he was Dilan," Vanitas commented.

"That was his human form, right?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, when he just wielded a simple lance and protected Ansem the Wise," Vanitas said. "Before he was an asshole."

Their looking around was interrupted by a voice from above.

"Look!" Belle called out. "It's the rose!"

They looked up to see her staring down at them from high above on the balcony to her room. She was holding up the glass case with the rose within. Xaldin then suddenly grabbed her from behind.

"Belle!" Beast called out.

The Organization member grabbed Belle and leaped over the courtyard and over the wall to the bridge.

"Hurry!" Sora announced as they ran towards the doors to the bridge.

Beast burst through the boarded up doors and led them across the bridge, where they found Xaldin standing and waiting for them, Belle in one arm and the case with the rose in the other.

"You!" Beast growled at Xaldin. "Get out of my castle, now!"

"With pleasure, but I'd rather travel light..." Xaldin announced with a cocky smirk. "What shall I leave behind? Belle? Or the rose?"

Beast growled at the man's words while the others stood in their battle stances behind him.

"Belle!" Beast called out as they continued running forwards.

Belle then elbowed Xaldin in the stomach, making him breathe out in surprise. She grabbed the case with the rose and ran past them down the bridge with the case.

"Good one, Belle!" Sora congratulated her.

Belle smirked as she continued running towards the exit and back towards the castle. Beast charged at Xaldin once more and slashed his claws, but the Organization member floated back. He looked up at them and raised his arms, making six mini tornadoes appear around him with little strikes of lightning. The tornadoes disappeared, replaced with six lances. Xaldin floated up in the air surrounded by wind, catching two lances in his right hand and one in his left. The other three surrounded the winds around him as he faced the group.

"Where's the fun in this?" Xaldin taunted as the group faced him.

Donald immediately started blasting Thunder while Xaldin had the wind and lances around him crate a barricade, just as Beast charged at him. The attack knocked back Beast and Goofy, while Sora and Vanitas jumped up as the lances swung over the ground at them. Sora had collected energy from Xaldin to made him appear over the man and come down attacking with his Keyblade multiple times before he was able to do an aerial combo. Vanitas fired an arrow from his crossbow, which made an impact before falling to the ground. Luckily he had the arrows made by Tony, so there were super magnets in them that made them fly back into his small quiver at the push of a button.

Vanitas grabbed another arrow and dodged with the others as Xaldin attacked with wind and his lances. Sora blocked an attack from the lances, and was able to gather energy to do multiple more attacks where he appeared over Xaldin and come down while attacking with his Keyblade. During this, Goofy threw his shield, Donald blasted with Blizzard, Beast slashed with his claws, and Vanitas swung his crossbow to attack while jabbing with the arrow. After Sora knocked away Xaldin with an aerial combo, the man flew up, briefly out of sight.

Xaldin then started shooting down his lances, which caused shockwaves, which the group had trouble evading. After a few of these attacks, the lances spun around Sora, and he cast Reflect before Xaldin could slam into the ground with all of them at once, damaging Xaldin slightly instead. Vanitas then fired an arrow at Xaldin which hit his head before it fell back to the ground. Sora once again used the attack multiple times, giving the others the chance to attack once again, before he knocked aside Xaldin with an aerial combo once again.

With great difficulty, Vanitas managed to grab one of the lances, but then exclaimed as he was lifted up by the wind gathering it. He yelled out as he held on as hard as he could. While being thrown around, he kicked the black haired man in the face. Xaldin growled out and tossed Vanitas aside, making him exclaim as he crashed into a nearby statue.

"Ow," he softly said as he picked back up his arrow and crossbow.

Xaldin was then covered in teal energy and started swinging his lances around wildly, which they all had to work pretty hard to dodge. He then floated on top of one lance as they all formed a line that he flew around over their heads on and over the bridge. Vanitas pulled his SIG Sauer handgun out once again and fired at Xaldin before the man flew below the bridge and out of sight.

Xaldin came back up with his lances grown in size resemble a large, three pronged weapon. Xaldin muttered something before sending out lots of wind over the entire bridge with his lances, damaging everybody quite a bit. Vanitas threw up a Mega Potion to heal his friends from that, and make sure no one got knocked out. Xaldin then leaped back onto the bridge and his lances shrunk back down to normal size around him.

Xaldin immediately followed it up with the wind and lances creating a barricade around him once again. He then charged at Sora, which he dodged and countered with Reflect. Vanitas fired his crossbow once more at Xaldin, and the arrow made impact before it fell to the ground again. Xaldin once again then swung his lances rapidly at them before flying out over the bridge with them grown in size and blasting wind over the entire bridge, damaging the group.

Donald and Sora casted Cura at the same time, healing everyone as they gathered together close enough. After the next three arrows did nothing, Vanitas decided to change tactics. He reached into his sling as Sora did another aerial combo against Xaldin while Donald blasted him with Thunder.

"This is for ratting me out, you son of a bitch," Vanitas announced as he got a clear shot.

He fired his M79 grenade launcher with one hand, doing one hell of a kickback on his wrist that he suddenly felt. But, the launcher still did the much needed explosion that ended the fight, which also upgraded Reflect to Reflera for Sora.

Xaldin fell back in pain as his lances stabbed into the ground. Light gathered around the lances, soon followed by white thorns. Xaldin yelled out as the same thorns came around him in black as he faded away.

"Maybe I should have started out with this," Vanitas quipped, holding up the grenade launcher.

"Maybe," Donald agreed with a laugh.

"Man, this is the second fight against an Organization member we've had with Beast," Vanitas pointed out as they walked back down the bridge to the courtyard. "That's gotta be pretty special for him."

"Yeah, a bit," Sora agreed.

Putting away their weapons, the group gathered back in the center of the courtyard with their other friends. Belle held up the case with the rose up to the Beast as they sstared at each other.

"Here," she told him, holding up the case. "It's yours again."

"Belle..." Beast said, taking the case in his hands.

"I know," Belle said, looking down. "You want me to leave the castle."

The others watched with equally concerned expressions as the man hummed at his rose.

"What matters is..." Beast said. "You weren't hurt by Xaldin. You're safe." The others smiled hopefully at that. "And... I'm very grateful to you... for bringing the rose back to me. Thank you."

Belle smiled and looked down as Beast placed the rose down on the ground.

"It's the least I could do," she told him. "You've been good to me. And you didn't have to be."

"Listen, Belle..." Beast stuttered out a bit.

"Yes?" Belle asked with a smile.

Beast stuttered in fear as he looked towards the Gummi quartet desperately.

"Say it!" Sora encouraged him.

"She's only a person," Vanitas reminded him. "Not a freakin' goddess..."

"Go on!" Lumiere encouraged.

"C'mon!" Donald added.

"You can do it!" Mrs. Potts added.

"We have confidence," Cogsworth added.

"Don't be bashful, now," Goofy added with closed eyes and a wide smile.

"What the fuck are we doing?" Vanitas asked with furrowed eyebrows. *** _2_ ***

Beast slowly looked from them to Belle in front of him once again.

"Belle, I'd like you to stay..." Beast told her. "With me... Please."

Belle smiled at him and offered him a hand. They took each others arms and stared at each other, moving like they were about to start dancing.

"I will," Belle promised him.

"Maestro, music!" Lumiere announced.

Vanitas took the cue and placed down his boombox, pressing a button. A romantic ballad started playing, and the two took the cue to start slow dancing.

"I thought you only had death metal and rock?" Sora asked.

"It's automated," Vanitas told them. "There's lots of stuff, those ones programmed to only need the thing to be kicked to activate. You have no idea how long Cid and I worked on this thing to have those settings act up."

They watched Belle and Beast dance with wide smiles.

"Hey, did you see the look on Belle's face when she grabbed that rose?" Sora asked the other boys.

"Huh?" Donald asked.

"Yep, she sure was havin' fun, all right," Goofy said.

"That's pretty standard when you're kickin' ass," Vanitas said with a smile.

"She is rather unique, isn't she?" Lumiere asked.

"Always ready for a little adventure," Mrs. Potts added.

"The two of them do seem made for each other," Cogsworth commented.

"Yeah, they sure do!" Sora agreed.

"Almost like..." Vanitas trailed off. "Ross and Rachel... Or... the Doc and..."

He passed out, and fell onto the ground hard, causing bruises to appear on his face.

"That happens a lot," Goofy assured their friends as they stared at Vanitas with wide eyes.

They picked up Vanitas and carried the ravenette back to the Gummi ship, ready for the next stage of their adventure.

* * *

As they sat back in their seats in the Gummi Ship, with Vanitas still asleep in his, they got an alert of a new message. Donald answered it, and saw Chip and Dale in their hanger.

"Hey, everybody!" Chip announced, no doubt having started the call. "I'm picking up a strange reading.

"Are you sure?" Dale asked. "Let me see."

"Look; it's all cloudy and kinda fuzzy," Chip informed them, gesturing to the computer in front of him that the others could see.

"Prob'ly just a glitch," Dale commented.

"I don't know..." Chip said, trailing off.

"Hopefully it's nothing bad," Donald commented as the transmission ended, making their friends disappear.

"Same vein as what's wrong with V," Sora added.

They looked over at their friend with concern in their eyes. They still didn't know what was wrong with their friend, but they had a feeling that despite their best wishes, it wasn't gonna be good, after all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Walking Dead reference. That's the kind of crossbow Daryl used in season 7 after his original got stolen
> 
> *2 He has a point. Six people telling him something like that in front of the woman they're encouraging him to talk to is a little odd, even by Disney standards
> 
> It is actually kinda cool to think about how outside the golden trio of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, Beast has been the only other Disney character to join in an Organization XIII battle, with both the secret Xemnas battle and the battle against Xaldin


	23. Fair Competitions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group meets back up with their Olympian friends, and discover sinister plots...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good to have Auron back. If briefly, but still

The next world they traversed back to ended up being Olympus Coliseum once more. They exited in the Underworld, where they found Hercules and Meg standing at the part of the steps in front of the large double doors that led back up to the coliseum. Hercules appeared to still be a little gloom as he looked up at the sight of them.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Herc!" Sora greeted as the two of them walked down the stairs to greet them. "You feeling any better?"

"Well... same routine," Meg admitted.

"Same with us," Vanitas admitted, before placing a hand on his arm, randomly feeling a great ache. "Well, I'm feeling shittier, but still..."

"Well, Wonderboy here thinks his hero days are over," Meg admitted. "And Phil thinks it's all in his head."

"Gawrsh, Herc," Goofy said. "We know you're a hero!"

"That's right..." Hades' voice laughed from somewhere. "Blunderboy."

Their attentions were drawn to the edge of the beach in front of them, right where the docks were with the water under them. Hades appeared in a puff of smoke, slightly blocking their view of a demonic coliseum far in the distance across the water.

"How can you mope on a momentous day like today?" Hades asked. "The Underdrome's back, and you are gonna fill the stands." He walked towards them. "After all, your fans won't settle for anything less than a certified hero."

During Hades' last set of words, Hercules clenched a fist and looked up at the god in anger, which then faded quickly.

"I mean," Hades said, placing an arm around Hercules' shoulders. "If you're not up to it, you could always just, I dunno, LOSE!"

"I bet you'd like that!" Sora snapped.

"Excuse me?" Hades asked, backing up a bit. "Hey, I'm not a selfish guy. I'm not like those high and mighty snobs up on Olympus. I stand for the masses! And have I got a massive idea!"

He turned away from them and with his best salesman voice, announced, "The games, ladies and gentlemen, are back! Yours truly, Hades, the one and only Lord of the Dead, brings you the ultimate games, to celebrate the re-opening of the ultimate coliseum! We'll finally answer the age old question: Who deserves the title 'Ultimate Hero'?" These games are gonna settle the debate once and for all! The winner reigns supreme. Of what? You guessed it! The Hades Cup!"

Hades turned towards them again.

"And I assure you that the 'Great' Hercules will be there," he promised. "Otherwise..."

Hades looked at Meg, who jumped in fright as Hercules placed a protective arm in front of her.

"You'll never see your girlfriend again," Hades told him.

"Lowlife!" Sora snapped at the same time Vanitas snapped, "Asshole!" Both of these at the same time Hades disappeared in a flash of smoke.

Hades' voice laughed, "You're too kind, kids."

With no other choice, the group walked over to Hades' underlings, Pain and Panic, right next to one of the boats that would take them to the Underdrome. They were apparently the ones they were to talk to for signing up for the games.

"I'm handling registration for the Hades Cup," Pain told them. "Don't go to Panic for that one!"

"Yeah, it's a great way to spend some time," Panic admitted.

"Right..." Vanitas muttered.

Sora, Vanitas, Donald, Goofy, and Hercules reluctantly signed up with Pain, then checked the roster for the competition.

"Who do we face first?" Hercules asked.

"Let's see..." Sora said in thought.

"Its 'Spin Strike'," Goofy read.

"Look!" Donald announced. "Auron's in the tournament, too!"

"Uh-oh!" Goofy said. "We might have to fight him in the finals!"

"I bet he's a real hero, huh?" Hercules asked.

"He spent his life and died protecting his ward," Vanitas admitted with crossed arms. "But he refuses to see himself as a hero."

"How do you know that?" Hercules asked.

"Stupid ass select telepathy," Vanitas admitted.

Sora turned towards their friend.

"So that means you're the only hero around here, Hercules," Sora assured him. "You know that."

"Maybe before..." Hercules said, looking down. "But now I'm just a wash-"

"Stop that!" Sora snapped as he, Donald, and Vanitas stepped forwards strongly.

They took the boat into the Underdrome, where their first round ended up being against a Morning Star, three Driller Moles, and two Tornado Steps. Sora went for the big guy, doing combo attacks against the Morning Star. Donald blasted Blizzard and Thunder at the various other Heartless. Vanitas used his sledgehammer as a golf club and knocked aside a Driller Mole with it. Goofy threw his shield or charged with it against the enemies. Hercules punched whatever Heartless came near him with strong blows. Within minutes, the round was over, and the Heartless were destroyed.

"How'd it go out there, champ?" Sora asked Hercules once they had destroyed the Heartless.

"I'm just not what I used to be," Hercules said, looking down. "Sorry to drag you down, guys."

' _Man, he's even more pessimistic than Repliku after he realized he was a replica again_ ,' Vanitas thought.

"Don't throw in the towel yet, Herc!" Sora told Hercules. "We need you in the semifinals!"

They rode the boat back out to the shore and sighed up with Pain for the semifinal match. Once again, the group read over the roster for the competition.

"We're at the semifinals..." Goofy said in thought as he looked over the board.

"Wak!" Donald exclaimed. "Against 'Bar Alert'!?"

"Are they any good?" Hercules asked.

"Well, if they made it to the semifinals," Vanitas pointed out.

"It sounds like they're 'bad'... but we can't chicken out now!" Sora told them.

Bad Alert turned out to be six Minute Bombs, one Crimson Jazz, and one Crescendo. Nothing they couldn't handle. Donald did the smart thing and only blasted Blizzard at the Heartless, while Sora slid in and cast Reflega around himself. The Heartless attacked, and the mini explosions severely damaged the Minute Bombs and the Crescendo. Vanitas, Goofy, and Hercules made short work of them with their attacks. Donald blasted some more shots of Blizzard at the Crimson Jazz before Sora could use an aerial combo again, taking out the Heartless instead.

With the round over, the group gathered together in the arena, with Hercules sitting on the ground.

"We made it to the finals!" Sora gleefully announced.

"If we win, we'll all be heroes!" Donald announced.

"Oh, that's why you're so happy," Goofy assessed.

"I guess saving hundreds of worlds and thousands of people doesn't qualify as making you a hero," Vanitas said with a sarcastic smirk directed at the mallard.

"I'm not gonna dignify that with a response," Donald said, looking down.

"Neither am I," Sora said, also looking down to avoid eye contact.

"I'll try not to mess things up," Hercules commented from his position on the ground.

The boys turned towards him as he once again looked down.

"Enough already..." Donald said in exasperation.

Hercules looked up at them, but then noticed a man with his back to them across the small gap between arena floor and door ledge behind the Gummi Quartet.

"Look," he told them. "Over there." The four turned around to see the man in the familiar red robes. "He's our final opponent, right?"

"Auron!" Sora called out to get their ally's attention.

The man looked over his shoulder at them as red and black energy suddenly surrounded him. It disappeared as he turned to face them.

"And you are?" Auron asked.

"Huh?" Sora asked in confusion.

"What?" Vanitas asked.

"Auron...?" Donald asked.

"I must defeat you and atone for my crimes," Auron announced in a robotic like voice.

"Hey!" Sora called out as Auron turned around and walked through the doorway and out of sight. "What was that all about?"

"Let's find out," Vanitas remarked.

They nodded their heads together and ran out of the Underdrome, taking the boat back to the shore in the distance. They managed to see Auron walking through the large rocks into the circular chamber entrance of the Cave of the Dead, so they followed him. They hid and looked around a corner to see their former ally discussing with Hades.

"Okay, let's review," Hades announced. "State your crime, prisoner."

"I exist," Auron answered in his same robotic like voice. "That is my crime. It is... inexcusable."

"That's a little harsh," Vanitas muttered.

"Ooh, good, very good," Hades told Auron.

"What's wrong with Auron?" Sora asked. "He's never acted that way before."

Donald looked up at him and shushed, since he was being a little loud. Hades turned away from Auron.

"Okay, so you made one lousy mistake: you exist," Hades told him. "But hey, I'm a forgiving guy. You keep your end of our little deal, and I'm willing to overlook a transgression or two."

"I understand," Auron announced. "Defeat Hercules."

"...And his meddling friends," Hades added with a smirk.

"What?" Auron asked. "No, only Hercules."

"Oh..." Hades said as he rested an elbow on Auron's shoulder. "Don't tell me you've forgotten who's in charge?"

He placed his right hand on Auron's shoulder, and red and black energy surged over both Hades' arm and Auron himself. Auron exclaimed in pain as Hades counted down from three with his other hand, then pulled out a small, wooden figurine of Auron. The energy flew out of Auron and into the figurine as the Lord of the Dead smiled sadistically.

"Hercules and the other four," Hades ordered. "Are we clear?"

"We're clear, Hades," Auron weakly told him.

" _Lord_ Hades," Hades corrected Auron.

"Lord Hades," Auron said, looking down.

The energy faded from both Auron and the figurine.

"Good," Hades told him. "Now go."

Auron turned away from Hades and started his trek back to the exit the Gummi quartet were hiding behind.

"So that's how he's controlling Auron!" Sora remarked to the other three.

"Son of a bitch has his own voodoo doll," Vanitas commented as Hades turned away and started back to his chamber.

"What a jerk!" Donald commented.

"He'd probably think that was a compliment," Goofy pointed out.

"I can't stand seeing Auron doing that lowlife's bidding..." Sora told them.

"Agreed," Vanitas said. "We've gotta find a way to help him."

Said man walked impassively past them and through the large rocks back to the shore.

"C'mon, let's go after him!" Sora announced.

The others nodded their heads in agreement. They ran through the rocks and managed to catch up to Auron just as he jumped onto a boat taking him to the Underdrome. He stood on the boat as it floated itself across the water, with Pain and Panic waving goodbye to them as they sailed away.

"Damn," Vanitas muttered as he and Sora looked down.

"What's wrong, guys?" Hercules asked, walking up to them.

"Auron's in trouble!" Sora told him. "It's like Hades brainwashed him!"

"He's using some kind of statue," Goofy added.

"Classic voodoo shit," Vanitas commented.

"Yeah, that _does_ sound kind of familiar..." Hercules said in thought. He hummed. "Hades may be using the statue to hold Auron's free will hostage."

"What do we do?" Donald asked.

"See if you can find that statue," Hercules told them. "It's gotta be somewhere in the Underworld."

"Right," Sora agreed. "We're on it!"

"Tell me you're not thinking of leaving," Hades said as he popped next to them out of nowhere. "You've got a match coming up."

"Jeez, dude, you're like the T-rex Jurassic Park," Vanitas said as he and Sora jumped in surprise. "Popping up at the end without anyone noticing."

"I'll fight Auron in the final," Hercules announced, getting Hades' attention from the teenager that confused him. "One on one."

"Oh, you will?" Hades asked before turning away in thought.

"I'll draw things out to buy you time," Hercules muttered to Sora and Vanitas as Hades kept his back to them.

"But..." Sora started to say.

"Just hurry back," Hercules told him. "I know you can do it!"

"Congratulations!" Hades announced so Hercules stood up straight again. "You've got a deal."

"Thanks," Hercules told him.

"On one condition!" Hades added. "The Keybladers, here, and their trusty friends have to meet the winner in one final clash, whaddya say?"

"That'll drive the crowd wild..." Hercules admitted.

"It better," Hades told him as the boat with Pain and Panic sailed right back next to them. "I promised the crowd the event of their afterlives."

Hades and Hercules climbed onto the boat, with Hercules sitting and waving bye to the group as it sailed away. Hades stood up straight, facing the Underdrome as he loudly droned on about how he was winning. Now alone, the four boys nodded their heads in confirmation at each other and began the trek.

Figuring that Hades would've hid the statue in his chamber, the group traversed through the Underworld the way they went before across the Caves and Valley of the dead. Pretty soon, they were in Hades' Chamber, where they found the statue of Auron on the podium-raised map in the center of the room.

"Got it!" Sora exclaimed.

He ran up to the podium and grabbed the statue, but then exclaimed in pain as red electricity shocked through his body.

"Sora!" Vanitas exclaimed. He grabbed his friend by the shoulder, then exclaimed as the electricity shocked him. " _This_ I feel!?"

Goofy muttered in confusion before placing a hand on Vanitas's shoulder, then exclaiming as the electricity shocked him, too.

"Huh?" Donald asked before putting a hand on Goofy's leg. He exclaimed as the electricity shocked him, as well. "What's going on!?"

The electricity stopped surging, but then they suddenly started hearing Auron's voice around them, and they looked around in confusion.

"It is not too late! Let us turn back! Yes, but I... I cannot accept it. Where is the sense in all this? But... there must be another way! Your deaths will mean nothing! You must live!"

The voice stopped, returning things to normal for them.

"I get it," Sora said, before looking at the statue in his hand. "This is what belongs in Auron's heart."

"Gawrsh, he musta had a pretty rough life," Goofy commented.

"You heard what I mentioned before about protecting and dying for his ward, right?" Vanitas asked.

"Protect his ward from what?" Donald asked.

"I don't know," Vanitas admitted. "Somehow _that_ didn't get shown to me."

"But in the end, that's really what made him stronger," Sora told them.

"Let's give it back!" Donald announced.

Sora nodded his head in agreement, but then they all stood in their battle stances as Dusks appeared around them pretty much out of nowhere.

"Nobodies?" he asked. "Where did they come from?"

"Maybe they're like the T-rex!" Vanitas quipped before pulling out his crossbow once again.

Sora started with a combo attack before picking the Nobodies up with Magnet. This came in handy for the others as well, making the targets for Donald's Thunder and Blizzard, Goofy's shield throws, and Vanitas's arrows much easier. Sora did aerial combos, Goofy charged with his shield, Donald blasted more Blizzard, and Vanitas swung his crossbow at a Nobody's head, soon taking out the wave of Dusks.

The second wave then appeared, so they kept up their attacks. Sora did aerial combos before casting Magnet to pick them up again, and Donald joined in the action by whacking the Dusks directly with his staff. Goofy did the same thing with his shield before Vanitas fired an arrow at a Dusk's head, destroying it.

"Maybe this thing is effective against Nobodies," he commented as he pulled back the bow line. "Just have to choose the right Nobody."

They kept up their attacks, soon taking out the second wave of Dusks, but then even more appeared outside one of the windows of the chamber. The group gathered together once again as they faced the oncoming enemies.

"Hey, go away!" Donald snapped.

The Dusks slowly started towards them, and Sora and Vanitas got ready. But then they stopped and stared in surprised confusion as Rapid Dogs popped out out of nowhere and started attacking the Dusks, with one of them biting at its head.

"Not what I had in mind, but I'll take it!" Sora admitted.

"We'd better skedaddle!" Goofy announced.

The group nodded their heads at each other and started running out of the chamber and back down the stairs, while the Nobodies and Heartless continued to fight each other in the room.

They didn't stop running until they arrived back at the dock, and took the boat to the Underdrome. There, they found that Auron had used his sword to force Hercules to the edge of the platform. Hercules held up the sword with both hands and strained as he kept it up in the air.

"Auron, no!" Sora called out as they ran through the side entrance, next to Meg and Phil. Hades was shocked and annoyed to see them there.

"Hey, Auron!" Donald called out as Sora pulled out the statue. "This belongs to you!"

Sora tossed the statue through the air, which exploded right above the man. Energy flew out and down around him, making him glow with mauve light. The anger vanished from his face and was replaced with surprise. He lowered his sword, and Hercules breathed out in relief as it fell to the ground. Auron then stood up straight and looked straight at the quartet.

"Sora. V. Donald. Goofy," he greeted them.

"Auron!" the four simultaneously cheered.

"Why, those little..." Hades' angry voice exclaimed above them. The four climbed onto the stadium as Hades stood up in his seat and looked down at Auron. "Prisoner. What happened to our mutual agreement? I can give you a clean slate, but you gotta work with me."

"Maybe you didn't hear me," Auron said before turning to look up at Hades. "This is my story, and you're not part of it."

Hades fumed red before disappearing in a pillar of fire and reappearing in an explosion in front of them.

"That's it!" he bellowed. "This game is over. I've played by the rules so far. Okay, I confess! I was hoping Wonderboy would lose, but it was still a fair fight. C'mon, is that really so wrong?"

"When you brainwash a contestant to do your bidding, then yes," Vanitas pointed out.

"Really?" Sora asked Hades as Donald and Goofy laughed. "A fair fight?"

"Laugh, laugh, laugh all you want!" Hades snapped. "Because the laughing is about to stop. Wanna know why? Because _now_ , we're gonna play by my rules."

He smirked and snapped his fingers, opening a nearby wall to reveal a swirling green vortex that led down to deep in the Underworld. The sound of Meg screaming garnered their attentions, and they turned to see her vanish in a puff of smoke.

"Meg!" Hercules exclaimed.

They turned towards the open wall to see Hades standing in it, with Meg floating next to him with smoke around her.

"Hercules!" Meg called out as she was then floated over the green vortex.

"What is with all this damsel in distress shit?" Vanitas asked.

"Hey, I warned you right at the get-go," Hades rationalized to Hercules. "You don't compete, you lose the girl."

"That's low, even for you!" Vanitas snapped.

Hades just gestured his hand again, and the smoke disappeared, dropping Meg down into the vortex. Hercules charged forwards and yelled, "No!" as he leaped across the gap.

"Meg! Hang on!" he called out before leaping down the vortex after her.

Hades smirked as he looked from the vortex to the remaining group members as the wall slid shut again. "Looks like Wonderboy has dropped out of the standings."

The five in the arena frowned at the Lord of the Dead.

"Well, you've still got us to deal with!" Sora snapped.

They stood in their battle stances, with Vanitas pulling out his machete, as Hades disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared behind them.

"Oh, yeah," Hades said with eagerness as he turned red. "This is gonna be good."

Donald blasted Hades twice with Blizzard, and Sora started a combo attack. Hades slashed with his fire encased hands at them, then Goofy charged in with his shield, Auron slashed with his sword, and Vanitas did the same thing with his machete. But all of their attacks did nothing against the god, so he backed away from them and laughed wickedly.

"We can't win," Sora assessed.

"How come?" Donald asked.

"Because it's his Underworld," Auron pointed out.

"You'd think the Olympus stone would've been enough to help us," Vanitas commented.

"Yeah," Goofy agreed. "So how do we beat him?"

Hades was about to snark at them, when the sound of the wall sliding open again garnered his shocked attention.

"I think a true hero should be able to help," Hercules' voice announced.

They turned to see Hercules standing nearby with Meg in his arms. A cocky smirk was on his face as he glowed brightly.

"But... you..." Hades said in shock.

"I owe you one, Hades," Hercules admitted as the light faded from around him. Pegasus appeared on one side and Sora and Vanitas ran up to his other side. "I didn't hesitate to give my life for Meg's. And then, I remembered: A true hero is measured by the strength of his heart."

He placed Meg down on her feet, and smiled at the others.

"I'll never forget that again," Hercules told them.

"Just no more crazy stunts," Sora told him with a laugh.

"But then life would be boring," Vanitas told his doppelgänger with a smile.

Hercules leaned down to Sora's level and admitted, "People always do crazy things when they're in love."

"Do you have any idea how loud you were when you said that?" Vanitas asked before he, Sora, Donald, and Goofy started laughing.

"What is so funny, you imbeciles!" Hades bellowed as Meg flew away on Pegasus. "How dare you get a happy ending! How _DARE_ you!"

They stood back in their battle stances, and Vanitas mentally wondered why Hercules never used the sword attached to his waist as they faced the Lord of the Dead. Hercules then provided them with large Aura Spheres, and Sora knocked one into Hades, changing him blue once more. Then their attacks finally worked, so Sora started a combo attack that knocked Hades in the air while Auron slashed wildly with his sword, Donald blasted Thunder and Blizzard, and Goofy threw his shield.

They then started a rhythm of attacking Hades around the chamber before he teleported away in flashes of smoke. The second he reappeared on the ground, they started attacking him once more, knocking him into the air and around the chamber. After a few minutes of this, Hades made a circle of fire appear around him, then yelled out as a tall pillar appeared in it, hurting whoever was inside. Once the fire faded, Hades was red and invulnerable to their attacks again.

Sora and Hercules tried dodging Hades' fire encased hands with Aura Shield, to no effect. The brunette was knocked back by a flame covered claw before he slid out of the way. Not even Donald's Blizzard worked, so when Hercules provided more Aura Spheres, Sora didn't hesitate to send one into Hades again, turning him blue again.

Vanitas slashed Hades with his machete and kicked him right in the groin before Sora started the team attack with Auron he joined in on. First they stood back to back to back and slashed their weapons, which caused a large slashing motion to surround them... just as Hades teleported away in smoke. They started doing attacks of lunging towards Hades and slashing their weapons, before jumping up with energy supplied by both Auron and Vanitas, which caused fire to flare out from the impacts on the ground. Vanitas then stood back as Sora and Auron pressed their weapons together, which started a tornado that did good damage to Hades before ending the attack.

Hercules then slammed his fists into the ground which sent out a shockwave that knocked Hades up, and Sora started the aerial combos. Vanitas fired a TEC-9 at the god, knocking him around, while Donald, Goofy, and Auron helped with their own attacks. Hades disappeared in smoke and had the fire pillar make himself red again, but almost immediately, Sora launched Aura Sphere at him again, reverting him to normal.

That didn't stop Hades from sending a large fireball up into the air, though. Fire rained down from it and covered most of the floor, doing lots of damage. Hades made things worse by throwing a fireball right at Sora, knocking the brunette back. Vanitas managed to keep his friends from getting knocked out by throwing up Mega-Potions, healing them of their wounds.

Hades had the fire pillar make himself red again, but Sora knocked Aura Sphere into him again, making him blue again. While Hercules charged Hades with Vanitas and Auron, Sora ignited Wisdom Form, making Donald disappear, and his clothes take on a blue color scheme. Sora then started blasting the magic out of his Keyblade with Wisdom before occasionally casting Blizzara, which did good damage to Hades.

While Sora did that, Goofy loaned his shield to Vanitas again, who used it to do pretty good attacks against Hades. He slashed with the machete, whacked Hades with the shield, hit the man with the butt of his machete, then slashed with the edge of the shield, before throwing it at Hades. The shield deflected off the Lord of the Dead, and flew back into Goofy's hand, who then whacked Hades directly with it in the face.

Auron continued doing wicked slashes with his sword, and Hercules kept slamming his fists into the god. But before Sora could end the fight with one more blast of Blizzara, Vanitas jumped up and kicked Hades right in the head, making him mutter, "This. Isn't. Happening!"

Hades clutched his side as the barricades disappeared from around the arena floor. Sora and Vanitas slashed their weapons at him, but he disappeared again in a cloud of smoke. Hades reappeared in the hole in the wall, backing up towards the ledge to the vortex.

"It's... not over... yet..." Hades got out before he exclaimed, losing his balance.

Hades then yelled out as he fell right down into the vortex, out of their hair (for the moment).

"I liked his work on Family Guy better," Vanitas admitted as they all stood up straight out of their battle stances. "Mainly 'cause we don't have to fight his version from Family Guy."

They all left the Underdrome and Gummi quartet stood with Auron at the dock while the others went up to the coliseum.

"Whatcha gonna do now?" Donald asked.

"I... lived my life defending others," Auron admitted. "But now... there's no one left to protect. Maybe... it's time I shaped my own story."

"Yeah... you deserve it, Auron," Sora told him. "After everything you've been though."

Auron smirked at them. "I suppose I should thank you."

"Not at all," Sora assured him.

"Fine," Auron simply said, turning away from them.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy deflated at that, making Vanitas smirk.

"I mean, sure, you could thank us a little..." Sora said, sheepishly.

"You should say what you mean," Auron told him.

"Yeah, he's not the best at that," Vanitas admitted as Auron turned to face them again.

"I guess I could spare a few words," Auron informed them. After a little bout of silence, Auron told them, "Thanks for meddling."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy deflated at that again while Vanitas burst out laughing.

"Hey, what's that mean?" Sora asked as Auron turned and walked away from them, smirking all the while.

"Nice job with that, man!" Vanitas exclaimed, holding his side as he laughed. ' _And nice job, Everglow, for including Auron's theme to this scene. Really feels right in this episode._ ' *** _1_ ***

With nothing else to do, the group went up the stairs to the Coliseum to see their friends, with Vanitas still laughing along the way. They walked up to Hercules and Meg, who were standing together arm in arm.

"Thanks again, guys!" Hercules told them. "You're the best."

"Excuse us for meddling..." Donald angrily said as he looked down with his arms crossed.

"Aw... sounds like somebody's feathers are a little ruffled," Meg commented as she leaned down to look at him better.

"You have no idea," Vanitas smirked as she stood up again.

"I'm kidding," Meg admitted. "Thank you, Sora, V, Donald, Goofy."

"So where you guys headed next?" Hercules asked.

"Aw, you know..." Sora trailed off, trying to find a good explanation. "You two lovebirds seem to be getting along just fine without us hanging around."

Hercules and Meg looked at each other, expressed shock, then quickly stepped away from each other in embarrassment.

"Yeah, we gotta go," Donald announced.

"Uh-huh, before we start meddlin'," Goofy joked.

"Now you figure out how to pronounce it?" Vanitas asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Right," Sora agreed.

"Are you turkeys trying to put me out of a job?" Phil's voice called out, garnering their attentions. They looked up to see said satyr walking towards them. "If you keep acing every challenge, Champ, who am I gonna train?"

"Aw, you can't abandon me now, Phil!" Hercules insisted. "I've gotta be at the top of my game in case Hades shows up again."

"Hey, are we true heroes yet?" Donald eagerly asked, jumping in front of Phil.

"Yeah!" Sora agreed, kneeling down next to his friend. "C'mon, Phil, how 'bout it?"

"Lemme see now..." Phil said. "Well, you're not wise enough..."

"That's painfully obvious," Vanitas muttered as Sora and Donald's eagerness changed to annoyance.

"Not quite seasoned enough..." Phil added.

"Okay, okay, we get the hint!" Sora snapped as he stood back up.

"Look, kid, it's not my call!" Phil told them.

"Aw, phooey," Donald muttered as he looked down in disappointment.

"Course if it was, you'd have no problem," Phil said as he turned away from them and crossed his arms. "I'd make you all heroes, in a heartbeat!"

"Really!?" Sora asked as he and Donald leaned forwards in eagerness once again.

"Say it again!" Donald insisted.

"On second thought, if those are your 'hero' faces, you still got a lotta work to do," Phil snapped at them.

"Hey, what do you mean?" Donald asked, running up next to the satyr as he tried walking away.

"Go away!" Phil snapped, pushing away from him and started running across the field, followed by Donald.

"Phil!" Sora called out as he chased after the satyr as well.

"Leave me alone!" Phil called back.

"Seriously, how are we the most mature in this group?" Vanitas asked Goofy, who once again shrugged his shoulders.

Pretty soon, all their attentions were drawn to the night sky above them. To the quartet's excitement, Hercules and Meg's pride, and Phil's bewildered shock, the stars formed the outline of the four members of the group, shining brightly in the sky to show that they were now heroes.

It was a nice last thing for Vanitas to see before he passed out and his friends had to carry him back to the ship again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did kinda like how the music started with Vim and Vigor but then changed to The Encounter in the Hades battle. Adds a bit more of hope to the fight. Plus, I just like The Encounter a bit more than Vim and Vigor. They remixed it weirdly in III, though
> 
> *1 That is a more direct reference to this episode of the Timeline, episode 101, cause they actually did have Auron's theme playing during that scene... apparently. I never played the Final Fantasys, but someone in the comments said that was Auron's theme


	24. Back in the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group deals with the cursed treasure from Isla de Muerta a bit more...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more bout of Jack Sparrow until III. I'm actually pretty glad they brought him back in that one

The next world the group found themselves in was once again Port Royal. They appeared on top of the Rampart again and walked forwards, stopping at the faint sound of blades clashing. *** _1_ ***

"That's coming from the port," Goofy announced.

"Let's check it out," Sora suggested.

They ran down the steps of the Rampart and exited out to the harbor, where they found Jack Sparrow facing off against multiple cursed pirates with his sword raised.

"Jack!" Sora exclaimed.

"Uh, Zola!" Jack called out. "Some assistance!"

"That's SORA, V, Donald and Goofy!" Sora corrected him.

"Weill ye leave a mate to perish?" Jack asked, raising up an arm for help.

"Aye aye..." Sora sighed out.

They ran forwards into their battle stances, with Vanitas pulling out his old Mossberg 500 12 gauge with a long barrel and pumped it in preparation against the two axe wielding pirates and one bomb wielding one. Sora blasted Blizzara before sliding forwards with a combo attack, then an aerial one. Vanitas blasted his shotgun at the pirates, causing great damage. Donald managed to incapacitate them with Thunder and Blizzard as Goofy charged at them and Jack slashed at them with his sword. With the help of Sora's new aerial finisher, Magnet Burst, the pirates were soon all defeated.

"Those pirates were cursed," Sora assessed as they all stood up straight out of their battle stances. They turned towards their expert on cursed pirates. "I thought we'd seen the last of the curse of Aztec gold... What gives?"

"Some scallywag must've got greedy," Jack told them.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at him, and Jack and Vanitas got the message.

"Oh, I see," Jack said. "You don't trust me, do you?"

The three nodded their heads.

"Likely a wise choice," Jack admitted. "I _am_ a pirate, mates."

"Yeah, but after everything we've been through, I feel like we're good," Vanitas admitted.

"Jack! V! Sora!" Elizabeth's voice called out.

They turned towards the bridge that led into town to see said woman running up to them.

"Elizabeth!" Sora greeted.

' _Same sticky business is afoot, I fear_ ,' Jack thought, which Vanitas heard in his head.

' _Possibly_ ,' Vanitas thought, which Jack didn't hear.

Jack turned away from Elizabeth, wanting to leave this business alone.

"Wait, Jack!" Elizabeth called out. "I need your help. The cursed pirates have returned. Will had to find out why, so he went to Isla de Muerta; to check on the Aztec treasure. I fear something's happened. You have to take me to him."

Jack turned to face her and rested his hand on the end of his sword.

"Aye, there it is," he commented. "If you'll be wanting him rescued, best do it alone, lass."

"Alone?" Elizabeth asked. "Really, Jack? Sail to the island and take on the cursed pirates?"

"Well, if any lass could..." Jack said, trailing off.

"Are you sure he's in trouble?" Sora asked.

"No," Elizabeth admitted. "Not certain. But he's been gone too long. I wanted to go with him, but he insisted I stay here. I can't just sit and wait! I've got to know if he's all right."

"Lucky man..." Jack commented.

"Please, Jack," Elizabeth insisted. "Take me to him!"

"Hold a moment," Jack told her. "I see no profit in it for me."

"I shall reward you," Elizabeth told Jack. "Of course, you do owe Will. He has saved your life before."

"No, he didn't," Vanitas corrected her. "The guy broke him out of jail, Jack helped him get to the island to help you, then when Jack wanted to wait, Will knocked him out and left him for the pirates. Then Will didn't even try to negotiate for Jack's life with ours, and Jack saved _him_ from the pirates. If anything, Will owes Jack... like, a lot."

"That is a good point," Jack admitted with crossed arms. "The lad hasn't been a good friend to me."

"Your reward will be whatever you require," Elizabeth told him. "Within reason, of course."

"Right, sounds fair," Jack said before looking over at the others. "Shall we?"

They climbed aboard the Black Pearl and set sail for Isla de Muerta, much to Jack's chagrin. They ended up having to take out cursed pirates and Heartless along the way, but otherwise, it was a smooth sail. Goofy stood at one of the railings and looked out in the see, quickly spotting the ship they were looking for.

"Interceptor off the starboard bow!" he announced, pointing towards the Interceptor.

The others ran up next to him to view the ship, and see the unconscious Will with his arms draped over one of the railings.

"Will!" Elizabeth called out at the sight of his unconscious form.

Jack looked down and placed a hand over his heart in a mourning gesture.

"Stop that, Jack!" Elizabeth snapped at him before looking at the others. "We've got to rescue him!"

They stopped the Black Pearl next to the Interceptor and brought Will on board. Elizabeth held him in her arms as she kneeled down on the floor of the stateroom, next to the table.

"Will, wake up," she insisted.

Will gasped awake and looked up at her.

"Elizabeth..." he weakly croaked out.

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked.

"The medallions..." Will said. "And... the stone chest, someone's taken them. Next thing I knew, we were attacked, but I couldn't see who it was... His face was shrouded... in a black hood."

"The Organization!" Sora assessed.

"We found a way out of the cave," Will continued. "But the villain sent a horde of terrible creatures after us. I've never seen their likes before... I think I'm the only one who made it back to the ship."

"Will..." Elizabeth said.

"Elizabeth..." Will said. "I feel rather..."

He passed out, so Elizabeth rested him against the wall.

"Our turn, guys," Sora announced before Elizabeth stood up.

"You'd best go prepared," Elizabeth warned them. "We've no idea what's out there.

"Pardon me, lads and lass..." Jack gently said, gesturing with his arms. "But your captain will have no monsters today. Thank ye. We're turning for home."

He turned towards the doors out onto the deck and walked towards them.

"Just like that?" Elizabeth asked in shock.

"Just like that!" Jack simply answered.

The Gummi quartet followed Jack as he opened the doors and led the way outside. He jumped slightly at the sight in front of them.

"Don't remember invitin' you," Jack quipped as the darkness surged next to the chest of Aztec gold, showing the arrival of an Organization member.

"So it was the Organization," Sora assessed, standing in his battle stance with Jack. "We can handle this!"

The man held up a hand, confusing them.

"The darkness of men's hearts, drawn to these cursed medallions," Luxord's voice explained, surprising Vanitas as said man paced next to the chest. "And this Heartless..." He waved a hand, and a Heartless called the Grim Reaper appeared. "A veritable maelstrom of avarice." He turned to face them. "I wonder, are they worthy to serve Organization XIII?"

"And you want an answer now?" Jack asked.

"Precisely," Luxord confirmed before disappearing in the usual surge of darkness.

Sora slid towards the Grim Reaper and started a combo attack before Donald blasted Blizzard at it, freezing it in place. Vanitas fired his Desert Eagle handgun at the Heartless, doing powerful blasts, while Goofy threw his shield and Jack tossed out some bombs. Sora did another aerial combo before the Heartless spun in a circle while waving its hammer, knocking them back and disappearing in the wind and reappearing just a few feet away.

They all got close to the Grim Reaper and did melee attacks, Goofy with his shield, Donald with his staff, Jack with his sword, and Vanitas with his handgun and Michael Myers knife. Sora was interrupted from his aerial combo by the Heartless spinning in a circle and knocking them back once more, disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the deck. Vanitas fired at it once more, doing another powerful blast, before throwing his knife, catching it in the side. Sora slid in and did another aerial attack before the Grim Reaper once again spun its hammer and disappeared then reappeared on the other side of the ship.

Sora then started the team attack with Jack once again where they opened the chest, and it released a lot of energy that picked up Jack and Vanitas. They all slashed at the Heartless, Sora with his Keyblade, Vanitas with his knife, and Jack with his sword, for a little while. Jack then dropped a bomb into the chest as Sora forced it closed. They then all moved out of the way as the chest exploded, which didn't damage the Grim Reaper that much.

Sora did another aerial combo as Jack dropped some more bombs, which ended up setting the Grim Reaper on fire. As it jumped around, Vanitas grabbed the hammer and thanked whatever was out there when his enhanced strength activated. He spun in a circle and swung the hammer hard into the Grim Reaper's side, doing significant damage. The Heartless used its wind move to teleport away, which ended up being right next to Donald and Goofy. The two didn't hesitate to whack their weapons into the Heartless. Vanitas pointed his handgun one more time and fired the last round of the hand cannon into the Heartless, knocking it off the boat and into the water, ending the fight.

"Oh, boy!" Donald cheered.

"That's one helluva pistol there, lad," Jack complimented, eyeing the Desert Eagle.

"Yeah, it's one of the more powerful ones," Vanitas admitted, sliding it into the one of the folds of his robes.

"Guys, not over yet!" Sora announced.

They turned towards the chest just in time to see Luxord remove his hood.

"Luxord!" Vanitas exclaimed. "What the hell, man! I thought we were cool!"

"You know this guy?" Sora asked.

"We got drunk once and played blackjack with the Avengers," Vanitas told them.

"I am sorry, Vanitas," Luxord said, actually sounding it. "But after they found out I did that, they threatened to turn me into a Dusk unless I became as cold and calculated as them. Now..." He smirked. "I am back to who I was before we met."

"Does that mean you're still doing those complicated ass riddles?" Vanitas asked.

"Who cares?" Jack asked. He pointed at Luxord. "Throw him overboard!"

"Aye aye!" Sora agreed.

"Parley!" Luxord announced, holding up a hand.

"'Scuse me?" Jack asked.

"Barley?" Goofy asked.

"Its a bit of a pirates' code," Jack admitted. "Anyone who invokes 'parley' must not be harmed 'til negotiations are complete."

"This is no time for rules!" Sora exclaimed.

"True," Jack agreed, walking forwards a bit. "But as we're honorable pirates, we should always stick to the Code."

"What negotiations are we even in?" Vanitas asked.

"We'll be finding out in a bit," Jack said before looking at Luxord. "All right, you. Out with it!"

"I surrender the chest with my humblest apologies," Luxord told them, gesturing to the chest with one hand.

"Rather accommodating of you, mate," Jack commented. "And for that you want...?"

"Just a few souvenirs... for the memories," Luxord said, reaching into the chest.

"Huh?" Jack asked, confused.

Luxord tossed four cursed medallions up into the air, and Gambler Nobodies appeared and caught them before climbing off the ship.

"Oh, no!" Goofy exclaimed as the Gamblers disappeared from sight. "We can't stop the curse unless we got all the medallions!"

"Our friend's about to learn what it means to cross a pirate," Jack announced.

"Oh?" Luxord asked.

The ship suddenly shook, and they heard the sound of water splashing. The Grim Reaper floated up from the water designed much differently, much more menacingly, with three Heartless skulls flying around it with blue fire around them.

"Sora! V! Donald! Goofy!" Jack told them. "He's yours!"

The Grim Reaper swung his hammer, and a very strong wind blasted at the group. They held up their arms with their weapons in hand to try to block out the winds, to no avail. The winds blasted them back onto the Interceptor next to them, where they landed roughly. Sora and Vanitas stood up and watched as Luxord stood at the railing where the cannons were. He lifted up his hand.

"Fire!" Luxord announced.

On cue, the cannons in front of him started blasting at the Interceptor, tearing it to pieces one at a time before a large explosion burst apart most of the ship, knocking everyone on board unconscious.

* * *

Sora was the first of the off worlders to come to after the remains of the Interceptor had floated to a ship graveyard. He slowly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees as Donald and Goofy woke up behind him. However, the first thing that Sora saw once he looked up was Jack standing in the moonlight, once again in skeleton form, like when they had fought Barbossa.

"You stole a medallion again!?" Sora exclaimed.

"Were I only that fortunate..." Jack told them.

"Fortunate?" Donald asked.

"So, uh, how come you're all skeleton-y?" Goofy asked.

Sora's attention went from Jack to the still unconscious Vanitas on the ground, who still hadn't woken up yet. He furrowed his eyebrows in worry right before the ravenette gasped awake and sat up.

"Don't know what that was about," Vanitas admitted as he stood up. He looked up at Jack and nonchalantly asked, "Hey, how come you're a skeleton again?"

"Perhaps I got a touch o' somethin' from that monster what attacked us," Jack theorized. "Yet, why's the skin restin' right on you four?"

"Cause we're not greedy!" Donald announced with his hands on his hips. Sora, Goofy and Vanitas looked at him with furrowed eyebrows due to the duck's claim. "What're you looking at?"

"That's probably not it," Vanitas commented.

"And it still doesn't solve the mystery," Sora pointed out.

Jack turned away and walked out of the moonlight, reverting to normal.

"Gawrsh..." Goofy loudly muttered to the other three. "Maybe the reason we're all okay is because we're not from this world."

"There must be different laws," Donald assessed.

"Yeah..." Sora said in sadness. "We're always just passing through... Wonder when we'll see home again..."

"Sora..." Donald sympathetically told the brunette.

Sora laughed, "Just kiddin' you. Lucky we didn't get cursed, huh?"

"How have you guys still not figured out you're supposed to be _quiet_ when you mutter something?" Vanitas asked. "'Cause otherwise, everyone around you besides the player will hear you."

"Quit yammerin', mates!" Jack snapped at them. "We've got to find ourselves a ship that'll float."

Jack led the way out of the Interceptor hold and out through the ship graveyard. Battling Heartless and cursed pirates along the way, they walked out into an open field and found the large remains of another ship with what used to be a deck leading up to the higher remains of the ship.

"Look!" Donald exclaimed, pointing up the ramp.

The others followed his pointed finger and found one of the Gamblers at the top of the ramp, tossing one of the cursed medallions up out of the open part of its robe.

"A medallion!" Jack announced as they stood in their battle stances. "Get it!"

They chased the Nobody up into the second level of the ship, with Sora sliding in and using an extended combo attack. Vanitas swung his fire axe and the Gambler at the same time Jack swung his sword. The two slashes from the blades ended up being enough to help finish it off. The Gambler exploded, and the medallion floated up into the air before just simply dropping to the ground.

Jack, back to normal, kneeled down to pick up the medallion as the others stood out of their battle stances.

"Three more to go!" he announced.

"How do you know?" Sora asked.

"A pirate must have a keen eye," Jack told him, looking over his shoulder at the brunette. "Else he won't be sailin' free for very long. Savvy?"

"Yeah, even I saw that four of the Gamblers had gotten away with the medallions," Vanitas informed them. "Just gotta get those last three, then this mess is done and over with again."

"Huh?" Donald asked, seeing a ship appearing from the shadows out in the distance. "What's that?"

They walked to the edge of a cliff and watched as the Black Pearl sailed up near them.

"Ahoy, mateys!" Elizabeth announced.

Vanitas smirked at how weird it sounded.

"Ridiculous imitation, and yet, I'm flattered," Jack admitted.

They climbed onto the ship and set sail back into the waters. Pretty soon, they were walking up to the doors to the statesroom when Will and Elizabeth turned towards them, just in time to see Jack in his skeleton form again.

"Jack, what happened!?" Elizabeth asked in shock. "This is horrible!"

"Ah, but who's to blame for it, eh?" Jack asked her.

"Well, it certainly isn't Elizabeth," Will snapped.

"Jack wouldn't have been out here if he wasn't helping her find you," Vanitas told Will before looking over the couple. "You know, I can't help but notice every time he does favors for you guys, bad things always end up happening to him."

"Calm down," Sora told them. "Guys, this is 'cause of Organization XIII. They're the ones behind the chest being stolen and this happening to Jack."

"Wonder where they went," Goofy commented.

"The hooded man took the pirates and his creatures with him into some strange hole," Will told them. "We saw them leave from inside the captain's statesroom."

"Didn't occur to you to fight them, mate?" Jack asked.

"I'm no fool," Will told Jack.

' _That's debatable_ ,' Vanitas thought. ' _God, no wonder they had slightly bigger roles in III. The developers had to make up for them being next to useless in this game_.'

"I knew I was no match for them," Will told Jack as Vanitas thought that.

"That I believe," Jack commented.

"Sora, I think we'll need your help," Will told the brunette.

"Got it," Sora assured him.

"No surprise," Vanitas muttered.

"First, let's find all the medallions," Will told them. "Otherwise, the curse can't be broken, and the creatures will remain invincible."

"Let me see that medallion we have," Vanitas requested.

Sora pulled out the medallion, and handed it to Vanitas. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

"What are you doing?" Will asked.

"Shh," Vanitas told him. "I need full silence during this."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't know, but shut the fuck up," Vanitas snapped.

He gritted his teeth as the usual pain appeared in his head, but for some reason it felt even worse than usual. On top of that, the blood ended up pouring out of both nostrils instead of just the usual one. He exclaimed as he shook slightly as the images he was looking for appeared in his mind eye. Once they ingrained in his head, he sighed out and stopped concentrating, and the pain vanished.

"So where are the medallions?" Sora asked as Vanitas pulled out a rag and wiped his face twice to get rid of the blood.

"One's at Isla de Muerta, and we just left the other two behind at the ship graveyard," Vanitas told them.

"Of course we did..." Jack sighed out as he went up to the wheel and spun it around to take them back to the ship graveyard.

They sailed back to the ship graveyard where they took out the two Gamblers pretty easily, and collected the medallions, while also facing off against the cursed pirates. Next, they sailed to Isla de Muerta and took out the fourth one within seconds, getting the last medallion. They climbed back onto the ship and gathered in front of the doors to the captain's statesroom.

"That's four medallions!" Sora announced, holding out his hand and showing off the medallions. "We got 'em all!"

"But where's the chest?" Jack asked, once again in human form.

"If we find the hooded man, we'll find it," Will told them.

"Prob'ly in Port Royal," Sora suggested.

"Why's that?" Elizabeth asked.

"Organization XIII is after people's hearts," Sora told them. "So they're gonna go wherever there's lots of people."

"They'll hurt the townsfolk?" Will asked.

"No, they're bringin' 'em flowers, mate," Jack told him. "I don't know who these Organizers are, but I will say they're makin' we pirates look like proper gents."

There was some anger in his last bit of words before he walked up the staircase to the steering wheel.

"Well, Jack..." Will said. "Then, we have to help!"

They watched as Jack neared the top of the steps and looked over his shoulder at them.

"Then let go and haul to run free!" he announced.

They sailed the ship back to Port Royal, docked the ship and ran down the port into the Harbor with Will, where they found the Grim Reaper floating in the air above the chest. Both Jack and the Grim Reaper were in skeleton form, and Vanitas only just now realized that the Heartless had a ribcage that opened and closed as if it was trying to grab something.

"Go!" Jack told the others as they stopped in front of the Heartless. "He's for me."

Jack ran off to the side, soon followed by the Grim Reaper. With the Heartless out of the way, the others ran up to the chest.

"Now to break that curse!" Sora announced.

He dropped the medallions into the chest, and the Grim Reaper returned to normal.

"The curse, it's gone!" Donald announced gleefully.

"Then what's this?" Jack asked, looking down at his still skeletal form.

"Aw, I understand," Goofy said. "Jack musta been cursed by that monster, not from takin' the gold."

"And you guys doubted him," Vanitas told his friends in a reprimanding manner.

"I've no worries, then," Jack said, looking down in disappointment.

"It's okay, Jack," Sora assured him. "We'll just have to defeat the monster, that's all."

The Grim Reaper then surged forwards and the guys all moved out of the way as it slammed its mallet into the chest, scattering medallions.

"Cover us!" Vanitas snapped at Will, tossing an enchanted sniper rifle into the man's hands.

"Get the gold!" Jack announced as the group gathered together and faced the Heartless.

"I sense the only way to get that thing to drop medallions is to cast magic on it," Vanitas informed them. He slid his machete out of his sheath and twirled his hand in a circle, making a fire ball appear.

Sora slid down and picked up the medallions on the ground while Vanitas threw his fireball at the Grim Reaper, setting it on fire and making it drop some of the medallions. When the fire faded, Donald and Sora blasted it with Blizzard and Thunder, and Jack threw some more bombs at it, setting it on fire once again. Within seconds, Sora had picked up the remaining medallions. He then slid up to the chest and dropped them all inside, changing the Grim Reaper back to normal.

They started attacking the Grim Reaper with their various attacks. Sora did combo attacks against the Heartless, Donald blasted Blizzard and Thunder, Jack threw up bombs that occasionally lit it on fire, Goofy threw his shield, Vanitas slashed with his machete, and Will thankfully understood how to fire the rifle and shot at the Heartless' head. They dodged as the Grim Reaper swung its hammer at them before disappearing and reappearing next to the chest and blasting wind at it, knocking out lots of the medallions and picking them up.

The Grim Reaper then tried sucking more medallions out of the chest, but then Sora and Vanitas grabbed the hammer, knocking it up into the air. They then got the skulls around the top of the hammer and threw it at the Grim Reaper, knocking lots of the medallions to the ground. Sora and Vanitas got up the medallions from the ground and returned them to the chest while Donald blasted more Blizzard at the Grim Reaper. After a few more blasts of magic, Vanitas threw up a Mega Ether for his friends, restoring their magic expenses.

Vanitas then lobed one more pretty big fireball at the Heartless, knocking it up into the air and making the remaining medallions fall to the ground. Sora picked them up and returned them to the chest, changing the Grim Reaper back to normal again. Will once again provided cover fire with the sniper rifle as the others did their various attacks. Sora did more aerial combos with awesome finishers, Jack threw up more bombs and threw some knives, Donald blasted even more Thunder while also jumping up and whacking the boss with his staff, Goofy charged with his shield and whacked it directly with it, and Vanitas slashed with his machete while also kicking the Heartless.

The Grim Reaper then teleported over the chest and cast some winds over it, collecting all 882 of the medallions. The three skulls then grew in size greatly and the group had to dodge greatly as they slammed into the ground and sent out shockwaves. It didn't always work, so once they were done, Vanitas threw up a Megalixer to completely heal his allies.

After dodging the Grim Reaper's wind attacks, Vanitas used both hands to make fire appear all around it, making it jump in surprise and drop lots of medallions. He yelled out as his head started hurting pretty badly and stopped the fire, gripping his head in pain. Sora then cast Blizzara to stop the Heartless and make it drop medallions, once the fire had faded.

Sora then ignited Wisdom Form again, which was perfect. He blasted even stronger Blizzara at the Grim Reaper than usual, then shot out the little white bursts at it which made it drop orbs to replace his magic expenses. Sora managed to get lots of medallions and return them to the chest before the Heartless tried using winds to get them back. Once again, Sora jumped up and grabbed the hammer, knocking the Grim Reaper up in the air. He then got the skulls onto the hammer and threw it at the Heartless, knocking it up into the air and making more medallions fall to the ground.

Sora kept blasting Blizzara at the Grim Reaper until the time limit for the Drive Form ended, returning him to normal. They kept blasting magic at the Heartless, until Vanitas recovered from his bout of pain and threw fire at the Grim Reaper once again, which made it jump around dropping medallions. Luckily, it soon dropped the remaining medallions, which Sora quickly picked up and put back in the chest, reverting the Heartless to normal.

They kept up their attacks before Sora ignited Limit Form and used Ragnarok to send out lots of orange projectiles at once, ending the fight.

The Grim Reaper dropped its hammer while writhing before it fell to the ground, with Jack returning to normal just a second later. Jack smiled as he looked at his changed back arms and kissed the back of his hand, reveling in the feeling of his skin again.

"All better," Sora told him.

"Ah, not quite, mate," Jack told him, literally pointing out Luxord in front of them.

The Grim Reaper disappeared, and the crystal like heart flew into the Organization member's outstretched hand and disappeared.

"Sora, Vanitas, bravo," Luxord congratulated them.

Darkness surged around him making him disappear. Jack grabbed Sora's shoulder to get his attention but let go once the brunette looked up at him.

"Just who was that chap?" the captain asked.

"He's part of an Organization that's collecting hearts," Sora told him. "First they release Heartless into different worlds. We defeat those Heartless. Then they get the hearts. We're never gonna stop 'em like this."

"What's the plan, then?" Jack asked as Will and Elizabeth walked up to them, Will handing Vanitas back the sniper rifle.

"We gotta find their stronghold and finish them off once and for all," Sora told him.

"Unfortunately, none of them have slipped up and left their back door open on some random world, so we gotta find our own way in," Vanitas admitted.

"Sailin' these waters, I've heard some tales, but not a one like this," Jack admitted.

"Is there any way we can help?" Will asked.

Sora crossed his arms and hummed in thought.

"Anything at all?" Elizabeth asked.

"There is," Jack informed them.

They carried the chest onto the Black Pearl and sailed out to sea with it. Securing the top of the chest with a spell from Vanitas's book, they tossed the chest into the water. It sank to the bottom of the ocean, never to be seen again.

"It's certain we don't need the likes of that hooded fellow and the Heartless about," Jack informed them. "They'll ruin the market for us true pirates."

"So that's why you went to Port Royal," Elizabeth assessed. "And we thought you actually wanted to save everyone."

"Uh, he kind of made that clear before we went to Port Royal, remember?" Vanitas pointed out. "He said straight up that he didn't like the Organization making the pirates look nice in comparison."

"The lad's right," Jack agreed. "A pirate always looks to profit, Miss Swann."

"Too bad," Sora commented with a chuckle. "You had us going there, thinking you turned a new leaf."

"The question is, what's beyond the leaf?" Jack asked. "Savvy?"

"We have gotta introduce this guy to the Avengers," Vanitas muttered to Donald and Goofy. "He and Tony would have some _fun_."

"Oh... oh, yes, a reward," Elizabeth remembered. "And what'll it be?"

"That lovely blade of Sora's," Jack answered.

"Huh?" Sora asked as he, Donald, and Goofy jumped in surprise, all while Vanitas laughed.

Sora stood up straight again and admitted, "Okay. Sure."

He held up the Keyblade and twirled it around to offer it to Jack, much to the pirate's surprise.

"Hold on!" he pointed out. "That was far too easy. What's the rub?"

He walked forwards and Sora handed him the Keyblade. Jack observed it as he held it up in the air. Then it disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared in Sora's hand.

"There, you see?" Jack asked.

"That's a shame," Vanitas commented. "I would've liked to see you with a Keyblade."

"Well, you've always got the Pearl, Jack," Sora reassured the captain.

"That I do," Jack agreed. "But someday, I'll gather a blood-thirsty crew, and come to take that blade. Chance by then I'll have the way to wield it." He looked at Will and Elizabeth. "And if I succeed, I'll ask you two to join me. That'd be reward enough."

"Done," Elizabeth confirmed, much to Will's surprise.

"That sounds more like torture than a reward," Vanitas commented, reaching into his sling. "So, I've got something."

He pulled out a gold plated Desert Eagle with skull like designs along the chamber and showed it to Jack.

"Take this," Vanitas told the captain, much to his surprise. "Hey, it's the least I could do. The gun's enchanted to never run out of bullets. Like playing a video game after completing it and getting infinite ammo."

"Why don't you do that with all your guns?" Sora asked.

"'Cause the spell only works four times, and the only other gun I've used it with is that sniper rifle I loaned Will," Vanitas admitted.

"I greatly appreciate it, lad," Jack told Vanitas, taking the offered gun.

"Now, be careful," Vanitas told him. "It's a pretty powerful hand cannon. Just a single shot could reduce a human head to a bunch of mush. Oh, also..."

He flipped to a page in the book and pointed a hand at the gun, muttering an incantation in Latin. The Desert Eagle glowed brightly before the light faded.

"What was that?" Jack asked.

"Let me see the gun real quick," Vanitas requested.

Jack handed Vanitas the gun, and he put it in his sling.

"Now check your pockets," Vanitas instructed.

Jack looked confused, but he did it nevertheless. He then reached into his vest, and with surprise on his face, pulled out the Desert Eagle.

"Just in case you lose it on one adventure or another," Vanitas told him.

"Now that _is_ savvy," Jack commented with a smile.

Donald and Goofy nodded their heads at that before the two looked at each other.

"Maybe someday, Jack'll be able to use the Keyblade after all," Goofy commented. *** _2_ ***

"Why's that?" Donald asked.

"A-hyuck!" Goofy laughed, looking up at Sora and Jack. "He and Sora are kind of alike, dontcha think?"

"Are not!" Jack and Sora simultaneously denied, before looking at each other in surprise.

Everyone then started laughing at that.

After a little while, Jack set the Pearl to see again while the others watched him from the deck.

"Some say that Jack Sparrow's the worst pirate ever to sail the Spanish Main," Will informed them.

"I think from what we've seen, that's bullshit," Vanitas pointed out.

"Agreed," Elizabeth said. "No one could really mean that."

"Right," Will agreed. "We know he's the best."

"I hope we'll get to see him again," Sora said.

"Agreed," Vanitas said before passing out.

The others carried Vanitas as they made their way back to the ship, ready for the next stage of their adventure.

* * *

Of course, once they got back on the ship, they got a message from Chip and Dale once again, showing weird readings on their own monitor.

"It's that weird reading from before," Chip announced. "See, I knew it wasn't a glitch."

"Yeah!" Dale agreed. "But it's still all cloudy and kinda fuzzy."

"Hmm... Well, we know one thing for sure," Chip said.

"What's that?" Dale asked.

"Whenever Sora, V, Donald, and Goofy go out and help folks, the reading gets stronger!" Chip informed his brother.

"Gee, I wonder why," Dale commented with his arms crossed.

"Hey, Sora, we're gonna try to find out more about this reading," Chip told them.

"And while we do, you fellahs just keep on questin'!" Dale told them.

"We really are countin' on you guys!" the brothers simultaneously told them.

"I'm starting to worry that the reading might be something big," Donald admitted.

"I'm starting to worry about V," Sora admitted, looking at their friend who was once again asleep in his seat. "That headache looked bad, and the nosebleed came out of both nostrils instead of just one. Guys, whatever's happening to him, it's getting worse."

"Nova Prime herself said that this is a result of whatever kept him from dying wearing off after a decade," Goofy reminded them.

"If this is happening to him 'cause it's wearing off, then what _will_ happen to him when it's gone completely?" Sora asked as they all looked at their still sleeping friend in worry.

"I don't know," Donald admitted. "But I hope there'll be something we can do to help him."

The others nodded in agreement as they kept flight through the Lanes Between, mentally going over ways they can try to do just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I'm just now realizing in these battles that in game, even though you have these allies, they don't really do a lot that can damage the boss themselves. The majority of the damage ends up being done by yourself. In this case meaning Sora. Kinda hard to actually change things up to give the side characters more meaning when all the attention is directed towards the one guy
> 
> *1 I figured that has to be what it was, 'cause the only hint we get is Goofy saying it's coming from the port. I had the volume at full, but still didn't hear anything. So, I just had to go with the best guess. They're not even standing at a ledge to give them any signs of what's going on, so I just had to do that
> 
> *2 I might experiment with that in the future. I do kind of like the mental image of Jack fighting Heartless with them while wielding the Wheel of Fate Keyblade from III
> 
> I'm starting to think Chip and Dale should have character tags. They've had more screen time than Jiminy so far


	25. Back in the Desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group arrives back in Agrabah, where they have to face off against another old enemy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to show another reason why I had Vanitas keep the rockets from Star-Lord

The next world the group found themselves in turned out to be Agrabah. They appeared in a flash of light in what they expected to be the peddler's shop, but it was very different from what they remembered. The walls were lined with gold, various piles of gold coins behind the counter, and gold vases along the shelves. The only thing that made it clear it was the same place was the treasure they had gotten the man from the Cave of Wonders, said man facing away from them, and the curtain that led outside.

Donald looked around in amazement and bumped into a brown vase next to him.

"Wak!" he exclaimed as he balanced it to make sure it didn't break.

"You break it, you buy it!" the peddler exclaimed as he turned to face them. He realized it was them. "Oh! Hello there, friends."

"Wow!" Sora exclaimed. "You made out like a bandit!"

"Please... I am but an honest merchant," the peddler told them. "What you see is merely the reward for my hard work."

"I'll believe _that_ when hell freezes over," Vanitas muttered.

"Gawrsh, they sure are nice," Goofy commented.

"And they're on sale!" the peddler informed them. "Interested?"

"No, thanks," Sora said, walking forward. "Listen, have you seen a guy in a black coat? Someone from Organization XIII?"

"Who, me?" the peddler asked in a voice Vanitas knew was fake. "Most certainly not..."

"Okay," Sora said, looking over his shoulder at the others. "We'll keep asking around, then."

They then looked towards the curtain as Aladdin rushed in with Abu and Iago.

"Sora! V!" he exclaimed before pointing towards the peddler. "Don't let him get away!"

Abu leaped over their shoulders and landed behind the counter. They looked towards the monkey to see him looking around curiously, because the peddler was gone. Abu shrugged in disappointment, and Aladdin sighed out.

"What's going on?" Sora asked.

"Can't believe it..." Aladdin told them. "That stupid peddler let Jafar out of the lamp!"

"Jafar!?" the Gummi quartet exclaimed in unison.

They all had a slight flashback to the vizier they had faced and tried taking the lamp with Genie in it from Aladdin.

"You guys better be careful," Sora warned them.

"Huh?" Donald asked.

"I'm sure Jafar wants to take over Agrabah again, but I know he's out for revenge, too," Aladdin told them.

"Revenge is a pretty good driving factor in a man's heart," Vanitas remarked, remembering how that was the driving factor for his nine year rampage.

"I guess he's still pretty sore about that whole lamp thing, huh?" Sora asked.

"Don't you remember what Genie said about that thing being a living hell?" Vanitas asked. "And that guy was already pretty pissed, so I think that would've just pissed him off even more."

"Iago was there when Jafar was released," Aladdin said, looking at the parrot. "Okay, Iago. Spill it."

"Hey!" Iago exclaimed as the others looked at him. "I told you everything I know!"

"This is your one and only chance, Iago," Aladdin warned the bird. "If I find out later that you've been lying or hiding things from us, we're through. I'll never speak to you again!"

"That seems a little excessive," Vanitas commented.

"I can't take it!" Iago exclaimed. "I know where Jafar is!"

"Where?" Goofy asked.

"Uh, er, I mean, that is, I, um..." Iago stuttered out. "Ack! I really shouldn't..."

"Iago!" Aladdin snapped.

"He's in the desert ruins," Iago told them.

"Let's get the jump on him," Sora announced. "Lead the way!"

They let the bird lead them down the roads from before to the small area outside of town. On one side was the desert that led to the Cave of Wonders. On the other was a bunch of trees, and past it in the distance was a giant sandstorm eclipsing their view of the desert ruins.

"What a disaster!" Iago exclaimed. "We're just gonna hafta turn back."

"There's gotta be a way," Aladdin said, putting a hand to his chin in thought.

"Aw, c'mon, kid, that's an easy one!" Genie's voice announced above them.

They looked around in confusion for a bit before their attentions were drawn to above them as Genie flew over them.

"Al, ol' buddy, ol' pal!" Genie exclaimed. He floated down next to them. "This is what having a Genie for a best friend is all about! I mean, how can you leave me on the sidelines at a time like this!?"

He disappeared in a flash of colors and reappeared above them much larger with his arms crossed, smile still pretty wide.

"Live large!" Genie announced. His eyes popped out of his head as he added, "Wow 'em, Al."

He disappeared and reappeared pretty small in front of Aladdin's face.

"Give 'em the old razzmatazz!" Genie added. "What do you say, kid?"

Aladdin smiled at his friend as Sora called out, "Hey, Genie!"

"Sora!" Genie greeted as he looked at them.

He disappeared and reappeared in normal size above them.

"Wanna see a little something I call 'Sandstorm Sweep'?" Genie asked.

"Uh-huh!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy exclaimed at once.

"Uh..." Vanitas said with uncertainty, theorizing this wasn't gonna be how Genie wanted it to be.

"Take it away, Genie!" Aladdin instructed their friend.

"Alacaza..." Genie started to bellow as he pulled back his arm.

But then he very visibly deflated at the sight of the sandstorm in front of him.

"You know?" Genie sadly asked before floating back down to face his friend. "One lousy sandstorm is just too easy."

Genie boredly pointed behind himself and shot out magic, making the sandstorm disappear in bright colors. It still made Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aladdin exclaim in surprise though. Vanitas was impressed, too, but since he had already seen Genie do the same thing just a few months prior, it wasn't anything new. Iago exclaimed in nervousness at the sight.

"How about giving me a challenge next time, eh Al?" Genie's annoyed voice announced as they looked around to see the man gone.

"Can you find my dad?" Vanitas called out a suggestion. "I really wanna kick his ass!"

Genie never reappeared or answered, so the group moved on over the desert. Their walk ended when they found themselves at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the ruins far below them.

"There were not this many ruins the last time I was here," Vanitas commented with furrowed eyebrows.

"Now what do we do?" Aladdin asked.

Their answer came in the form of Carpet flying down from high in the sky and floating next to their feet. He gestured to himself with one of his tassels.

"Nice timing, Carpet!" Sora congratulated the flying carpet.

"Luckily I've got these," Vanitas said, gesturing to the rockets on his legs again.

Somehow, and even Vanitas and Sora were incredibly confused by this, Sora ended up alone on Carpet in his battle stance floating over the ground of the ruins, with Vanitas floating next to him due to his rockets.

Their attentions were soon drawn to a bluish, see through Jafar floating in front of one of the ruins and stared at them.

"Let's get the prick," Vanitas announced.

They flew towards Jafar's shadow, which then disappeared in a large burst of red and black smoke. Barriers came up, and Rapid Thrusters surrounded them.

Sora started aerial attacks against the Rapid Thrusters, with his Magnet Burst combo finisher dragging them all together and doing lots of damage. Vanitas fired a CZ Scorpion Evo 3 S1 automatic in one hand and a Smith and Wesson M&P handgun in the other at the Heartless. Once some of the Rapid Thrusters were destroyed, Hook Bats appeared. Sora then cast Magnera to gather the Heartless together, giving them both a better target against the enemies. Sora cast Thunder while Vanitas fired his guns, doing significant damage.

Two Fortunetellers then appeared, and Sora flew after one on Carpet and Vanitas flew after the other with his rockets. Sora deflected his Fortuneteller's Blizzard attacks into it, causing the Heartless to damage itself. Vanitas's automatic ran out so he slipped it back into his sling and put the Fortuneteller in a headlock. He fired his Smith and Wesson into the Heartless's head before twisting its head 180 degrees. The Heartless exploded while Sora finished his off with Thunder.

The barriers fell and the Shadow Jafar reappeared. The two chased after the Shadow as it flew around the ruins, occasionally attacking it to stop it from casting spells against them. They chased the Shadow Jafar past two large walls and down a small space between mountains next to them. They flew after the Shadow over a gigantic brick tower. The Shadow Jafar set up another barrier, and more Rapid Thrusters appeared.

Vanitas reloaded his Smith and Wesson and fired at the Heartless while Sora used aerial combos against them. Once they finished off the Rapid Thrusters, three Fortunetellers appeared. Vanitas lobed a fireball at one while Sora got close to another and used Reflera to block the Blizzard attacks and have the mini-explosion retaliate, then use a subsequent combo to finish it off. A Crimson Jazz then appeared, and Sora used Reflera to deflect its attacks and retaliate while Vanitas fought off the Fortuneteller. Sora finished off the Crimson Jazz while Vanitas took out the Fortuneteller with three rounds to the head.

With the Heartless gone, the barrier disappeared and a monument appeared on top. They activated it, and Vanitas sensed there were three switches they needed to activate with magic to open up the door into the tower. They flew around all the ruins, casting Thundara on one, Blizzara on the other, and Fira on the last one, activating the switches. The door glowed a bright light before it disappeared entirely. They flew inside and found themselves in a ruined chamber, and that's when the others reappeared.

"I have no idea what the fuck happened there," Vanitas commented.

"Neither do I," Sora admitted.

They brushed that off and ran up the side staircase with their weapons drawn.

"The games up, Jafar!" Sora exclaimed as they stood in their battle stances.

However, the room in front of them was empty, with the most notable feature being a red and black stand with a vase on top. The group looked around in confusion and looked at their guide, Iago, inquisitively.

"You sure this is it?" Aladdin asked.

"Iago?" Donald asked.

The parrot looked down in shame and perched himself onto a nearby fallen pillar on the ground.

"You gotta understand, it wasn't my idea!" Iago told them with shame and fear in his voice. "It was Jafar. He made me bring you here. You don't know him like I do. He can be _very_ convincing..."

"Well, yeah, people can be convincing enough with their death threats," Vanitas admitted, thinking about the ones he did during his rampage, threatening people into giving up needed information.

"He said if I didn't co-operate, he was gonna..." Iago started to say.

"Where is he?" Aladdin interrupted.

"C'mon, Al, you gotta forgive me," Iago begged.

"Where's Jafar!?" Aladdin snapped, so the parrot flew up again.

"Well...um, let's see...right about now, he's probably attacking the palace," Iago admitted with embarrassment. He flew towards them as Aladdin kept frowning. "I had no choice! His eyes, they got all creepy and _weird_!"

"Whatever," Sora snapped. "Iago, you're supposed to be our friend. But you've been playing both sides, just make sure you save yourself."

"I knew you were still a bad guy," Donald snapped, jumping up and down angrily.

"I'm sorry!" Iago cried in shame, flying back from them.

But then he bumped into the stand and knocked the lamp off, where it shattered on the ground. Then the middle of the stand sank in, sort of like a trap. And like a trap, the room started shaking and raining pieces of ceiling down towards them.

"I feel like Indiana Jones," Vanitas commented.

Carpet then flew up the staircase and towards them. Carpet then floated down next to their feet and gestured to himself with one of his tassels again.

"Let's go!" Aladdin announced.

Like before, the others disappeared while Sora flew on Carpet and Vanitas flew with his rockets. They flew around the tower while knocking Heartless away from them and dodging obstacles. They flew between the two mountains over the ruins once again, knocking away Heartless whenever they came close. It took them quite a while to get out of there, certainly with some of the taller buildings of the ruins falling towards them. They flew across the desert and back outside the palace walls, where the other members of the group reappeared again.

Carpet collapsed on the ground in front of them, appearing pretty exhausted.

"Get some rest, Carpet," Aladdin told him(?). "You earned it."

"C'mon, let's get Jafar!" Iago announced as Aladdin stood up.

"And who asked you?" Sora asked.

"Oh, come on, he was threatened with death," Vanitas told Sora. "Stop being an asshole." He widened his eyes in surprise. "Whoa, never thought I'd be on _this_ end of that saying."

"The palace is through there," Aladdin told them, gesturing to the doors in front of them back into town. "Hurry!"

They entered town and went through the Bazaar and back into town. They went across the city and ran into the peddler, right in front of the road that led to the palace.

"I guess you know everything now, eh?" the peddler asked them.

"You can't keep shady stuff secret for too long," Sora told him.

"Trust me, I know," Vanitas told him.

"So true," the peddler agreed. "I had just snuck into the Palace to, er, borrow some treasure when I heard this... voice. It said: 'Release me, and I will give you an even greater reward'." He turned away from them and walked a few feet away during his next words. "'Who are you?' I asked. The voice spoke again. 'The true Sultan of Agrabah,' he said. 'Imprisoned by villains.' Oh! Why did I believe such a tall, tall tale? Perhaps I was under Jafar's spell. Yes! That must be it!"

"Or you were blinded by your own greed," Vanitas countered with crossed arms.

"Yeah, I'm sure the treasure had nothing to do with it, right?" Sora added.

"Maybe a bit," the peddler admitted, turning to face them. "But Jafar, he never gave me a thing..."

"So where did you get all your treasure?" Sora asked, walking forwards and crossing his arms in thought.

"Why, the man in the black coat, of course," the peddler told them.

"Organization XIII!?" Donald asked in shock.

"I _knew_ it!" Sora exclaimed.

"The treasure was a gift, so I would tell no one about Jafar's return," the peddler told them. "He said he would destroy Jafar after turning him into a... 'Heartless.' So there was no need to upset Agrabah."

"And you bought that?" Sora asked.

"I'm a merchant," the peddler reminded them. "And a good one, at that. I'll buy anything if the price is right." He looked towards Iago. "It would have been a successful transaction if I hadn't been seen..."

"Oh, you're so kind..." Iago told him.

Everyone but Vanitas looked at Iago, and he looked down in shame.

"I'm more wondering who this Organization member is," Vanitas admitted. "Between Mansex, Xigbar, Saïx, and Luxord, and Axel betrayed them, so I doubt he's trying to keep up their plans..."

He pushed those thoughts aside as they rushed down the road to the palace and into the courtyard outside where they had fought the Blizzard and Fire Lords. Along the way, Vanitas had a slight vision of what was happening there already. Jasmine was chained in front of the doors to the palace, with Jafar in front of her.

"Just wait, Jafar!" Jasmine snapped. "You'll get exactly what's coming to you!"

"Indeed I will, Princess," Jafar smugly agreed. "All of Agrabah will bow to me, while you..." He laughed wickedly. "You, my queen, shall weep at my side for eternity!"

' _Doesn't that guy understand she doesn't wanna marry his old ass?_ ' Vanitas thought.

The vision continued, looking over Jafar's shoulder towards the opposite doors, desperately.

"Oh, please," Jafar told her. He leaned down and grabbed her chin to make her look at him. "Right about now... Your precious Aladdin is whispering your name, with his last breath."

The vision ended as the group entered the courtyard and ran forwards. Jasmine gasped in delight at the sight of them as they stood in their battle stances in preparation. Jafar turned around to see them and groaned in annoyance.

"What was that you were saying, Jafar?" Aladdin smugly asked.

Iago peeked his head out from behind Goofy nervously.

"You dare defy me!" Jafar snapped. "You useless bird!"

Red appeared on top of Jafar's staff, and Iago hid behind the shield with Goofy. Jafar then pointed the staff at Aladdin and shot out red lightning.

"Al!" Iago exclaimed, flying in front of Aladdin.

The lightning shocked Iago and he fell to the ground, twitching slightly from the shocks. The group gathered around and looked at the parrot in worry.

"Iago!" Goofy exclaimed.

"You'll all be joining him..." Jafar announced, getting their attention as red smoke and lightning surrounding him. "VERY soon!"

The smoke grew before two little bursts of magic shot up in the air. To everyone's shock, Jafar grew back into his genie form, growing in size exponentially. The impact of his growth knocked one of the pillars off of the palace, and Sora, Vanitas, and Aladdin exclaimed as they ran away, the pillar falling towards them. Carpet flew towards them quickly and got them away from the pillar.

Within moments, Jafar was in full genie form over the city, laughing wickedly and releasing magic into the air. Sora and Vanitas faced him together, Sora on Carpet and Vanitas with his boots.

"What did I use last time we fought this prick?" Vanitas asked, furrowing his eyebrows to try to remember. "'Cause I don't think it'll work this time."

The first thing Jafar did was lift up two more pillars from the palace and threw them towards them. Vanitas got an idea and pulled out his sledgehammer. He and Sora dodged the pillars and attacked Jafar in the stomach, soon doing enough to make him clutch it in pain. After doing some more attacks to the genie's head, Sora grabbed Jafar's tail. To Jafar's confusion, he flew around with the tail, wrapping it around Jafar. He then pulled and made Jafar then spin around, dizzying the genie. He groaned as he looked down.

Sora and Vanitas flew up to Jafar's head again and Sora started doing more combo attacks, while Vanitas swung his sledgehammer encased in fire lots of times towards the head. They attacked quite a bit for a long while before Jafar recovered and faced them again. They then floated back down to Jafar's stomach and attacked him once again, once again doing enough damage to make him clutch it in pain. Vanitas flew up to Jafar's head and punched, kneed, and kicked the genie in the face to do lots of damage while Sora once again spun him around to make him dizzy once more.

They flew up to Jafar's head once more and did a few more attacks. However, they didn't have as much time before Jafar recovered. Their visions then went black, and the two then found themselves in a gigantic tornado, with Jafar far in the distance orchestrating it all. They flew around dodging the pieces of buildings that came near them, and Vanitas pulled out a SIG Sauer handgun and fired at the genie. Unfortunately, he took too long with aiming at one point, and a large piece of building hit him right in the side, blowing out one of the rockets. He exclaimed as he used the remaining rocket to clumsily fly towards Carpet and join Sora on top.

"That was unpleasant," Vanitas admitted.

He looked down and saw that the right rocket was sputtering out smoke before it just up and died.

"And that was unfortunate," Vanitas added.

Darkness clouded their visions again, and they were over the city with Jafar in the distance again. Carpet dodged lots of fire and Thunder attacks as they flew towards Jafar. Vanitas was able to absorb the fire with his own fire, but the Thunder still damaged them. They managed to attack Jafar's stomach and damage him again, making him clutch it in pain. Sora grabbed the tail and they spun him around, dizzying the genie once more.

They then flew up to Jafar's head and did some more attacks. Standing together on Carpet, they did one last attack: Vanitas launched a fireball at the same time Sora shot up Thunder, and the combined final attack ended the fight, which also ended up upgrading Sora's Fira to Firaga.

They both flew on top of Carpet far out of the way as lightning surrounded Jafar, looking pretty painful.

"No..." Jafar denied with uncertainty. "How can I BE defeated again, by a pack of filthy street rats?"

"Don't mess with street rats!" Sora quipped as they flew on Carpet back towards the palace.

Jafar exclaimed even more as the energy surged around them, then he exploded and released pinkish energy.

"Well, there's another to add to the list of murders," Vanitas commented.

The group landed on the ground once again in the ruined town to find Jafar's lamp, where it disappeared in a pool of darkness and a flash of red smoke.

"Yep, he's definitely dead," Vanitas said.

The sound of teleportation appeared behind them, and they turned to see Genie over them.

"You went mano a mano with Jafar, and you didn't invite me, Al?" Genie asked.

"Sorry, Genie," Aladdin said. During his next words, Genie turned away from them and crossed his arms in distress. "Things happened kinda fast."

"And I had some new moves to show off, too..." Genie added in distress.

"But Genie, we still need your help!" Donald announced, getting the blue man's attention again.

"Who's gonna fix Agrabah?" Sora asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Genie exclaimed, raising his fist in excitement. "One super-duper spruced-up Agarabah comin' right up!" He disappeared and reappeared behind them. "You won't even recognize the place when I'm through with it!"

"Just like it was, please," Aladdin requested with a slight smile.

"Really?" Genie asked in disappointment. "Same old place?" Sora and Aladdin nodded their heads. "All right."

Genie exclaimed and released orbs of magic.

"Et voila!" Genie's voice announced above them. "Next time let me put in a few swimming pools, 'kay?"

Pretty soon, the city was back to normal. Jasmine stood with them as they observed the reconstructed walls and stalls. Aladdin stretched as Iago rested in a booth behind them.

"I guess Agrabah's all right now," Sora told Aladdin.

"And now Jafar is definitely not a threat anymore," Vanitas added. "There's a big win for the city."

"Yeah!" Aladdin agreed with the both of them. "Thanks, guys."

"Hey, you behave yourself, got it?" Sora asked Iago as they looked towards the resting Iago.

"I most definitely got it!" Iago agreed. "No more lookin' out for number one." He flew up. "I'm reformed! I wanna be a good friend, like Genie, but I can't do anything to help you. What kind of a friend is that?"

"Oh, no, it's not like that, Iago," Sora assured him. "Friends don't have to 'do' stuff. As long as you have fun hanging out together, that's all that matters."

"So... what do you guys do for fun?" Aladdin asked.

"I do things that are bad for me," Vanitas admitted, pulling out a blunt and lighting up.

"We do this!" Donald announced as he and Goofy looked at Aladdin making goofy faces.

Aladdin went wide eyed in confusion at them.

"Uh... that's not quite what I meant," he admitted.

"Well, anyway..." Sora said, resting his hands on the back of his head.

"Ow, my beak..." Iago groaned in pain, rocking slightly in his flight pattern.

"Gawrsh, Iago," Goofy said, straightening back up. "I hope ya didn't hurt yourself."

"Well..." Iago coughed, flying forwards. "At least I can still fly."

The parrot flew up in the air, and Goofy flew under him, holding out his arms just in case. However, he didn't pay too much attention to where he was going.

"Look out!" Donald exclaimed.

Goofy hummed in confusion before fell into a nearby booth, breaking the wood and smashing the entire thing. The other guys winced at the sight before Vanitas moved to help the canine up.

"Oooh!" Genie's voice announced above them. "Was that my cue? Am I on? C'mon Al, let me build a freeway or something!"

"Everything's fine," Aladdin assured him. "Don't panic... Genie!"

Magic flew around in the air as Genie announced, "But I can't hold it any longer!"

Genie flew around above them in the air with magic flying around them, exclaiming in child like excitement.

"Sora! V! Donald! Goofy!" he exclaimed. "You guys are too much! If you're ever in the mood for some more cosmic razzle-dazzle, gimme a shout, okay?"

"You got it!" Donald assured him.

"Hell, yeah, ma..." Vanitas trailed off before passing out.

"That's been happening a lot often," Sora admitted to Aladdin as they leaned down to pick up their friend.

"Well, you've done it again, Sora," Aladdin told them. "Don't forget about us, okay?"

"We won't," Sora assured him.

"And Sora... about that friend of yours, the one you're looking for..." Aladdin said, as Sora deflated slightly. "You'll find him. Trust me."

Aladdin placed his hands on Sora's shoulders in reassurance, and Sora nodded gratefully. The group then carried Vanitas with them back to the Gummi ship, ready for the next part of their adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have no idea how much better it is to have the Heartless' actual names. Thank god for khwiki.com and it's long ass Heartless list
> 
> I do try to give Vanitas more gun diversity, but it can be a little challenging to find more options. Even with imfdb readily available


	26. The Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group heads finds new trouble brewing with some of their friends caught in the middle...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that summary has worked for the last six chapters. And for the next couple after this

The next world the group found themselves in was Halloween Town once again. They entered the Hinterlands and looked around in confusion. They were surprised to see that there were a bunch of Christmas presents littered on the ground. Jack came into view from the entrance, still dressed in the Santa costume, and picked up presents, storing them under his arm.

"Huh?" Donald asked as Jack came into view.

Jack stood straight up and faced the others.

"Perfect timing, gentlemen!" he greeted. "Lend me a hand, won't you?"

He walked towards them.

"These presents must belong to Sandy Claws," Jack assessed as he got close enough. "So I thought I'd better return them."

Sora looked at him with his head crooked in thought, then looked down with his arms crossed.

"You just happened to find them?" he asked, skeptically.

"Stop being an asshole," Vanitas told his doppelgänger before going wide eyed. He muttered, "Twice in one day, what the hell?"

"Of course I did, Sora," Jack assured him and leaning down slightly to look at him better. "I'm finished with Christmas fantasies. You know that."

Jack walked past him towards the door with a couple of presents in his arms, and Sora watched him, still skeptically.

"But, you thought you'd hang onto the suit?" he asked.

"What, this?" Jack asked, looking over his shoulder at Sora. "It's just a costume. And Sally worked so very hard making it! Come on. We've got work to do!"

The boys picked up the remaining presents scattered around the field and picked them up. They then went through the door to Christmas Town and went across said town towards Santa's house. Walking inside carrying the presents, they were soon noticed by Santa.

"Oh!" he said in surprise as they started placing the presents on the table. "Wherever did you find these?"

"In Halloween Town," Jack answered as he handed the present in his hands directly to Santa. "You'll be needing them for Christmas, right, Sandy?"

"Of course," Santa assured them. "But these are just a few of the Christmas presents that were stolen."

"Stolen!?" Sora exclaimed as they all jumped in surprise.

Vanitas was annoyed when everyone's eyes went to Jack.

"Oh, Sandy..." Jack said in sadness. "You don't think it was _me_?"

"Still wearing the outfit, I see," Santa countered.

"I just thought I'd dress for the occasion," Jack informed him. "But if you don't believe me, then we'll have to find out who really did it!"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy were surprised by that notion.

"Come on, guys, he's our friend," Vanitas told them. "Let's give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Very well, I'll leave it to you," Santa told them.

"All right, Sora, V, Donald, Goofy!" Jack announced. "We're off!"

He started walking towards the door in determination.

"Do you know where the first place to go is?" Vanitas asked.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy deflated at Jack's claim, but they perked back up at the sound of glass breaking, coming from the workshop. The group entered the factory and went up to the second level. They entered the room and found Lock, Shock, and Barrel next to a big toy shooting gun, with the boys holding up toys in front of Shock.

"No!" she snapped.

Lock tossed aside the toy he had as Barrel put a hand on top of the teddy bear he had.

"This looks good," Barrel suggested.

"No!" Lock snapped.

"Boooring!" Lock told him.

Barrel tossed aside the bear while Lock held up another toy.

"This one?" he asked.

"No!" Shock snapped.

"No way!" Barrel snapped.

"Hey!" Donald exclaimed, getting their attentions.

"So _you_ three took them!" Sora snapped.

"Took what?" Shock asked.

"You stole the presents, didn't you!" Jack accused them.

"It wasn't us!" Lock defended.

"But..." Barrel said in thought.

"It really sounds like fun!" Shock announced.

The three started running away, exclaiming, "Run for it!"

"Get 'em!" Vanitas announced.

They ran around the room after the three, with Sora using combo attacks, Donald shooting out Blizzard and Thunder, Goofy swinging his shield, Jack charging at them with fire around himself, and Vanitas swinging his baseball bat at the brats. Once they tired down one of the kids enough, they knocked a box at them, trapping them. Once they had trapped the three kids, the group dropped them out of the boxes and onto the ground in front of the giant toy gun.

"Where'd you put the presents?" Sora asked them.

"Spill it, you brats!" Vanitas exclaimed, pointing his bats at the kids. He then thought, ' _Man, I look like Negan in the season six finale._ '

"We told you!" Shock told him. "We don't have 'em!"

"Then why are you in here!?" Donald snapped.

"We're looking for parts to the experiment," Lock told them.

"Experiment?" Jack asked.

"Dr. Finklestein's making us a friend!" Lock told them.

"One we get to boss around!" Shock added.

"It's true the doctor's been hard at work making _something_ , lately..." Jack said in thought, placing his hand on top of his head.

The three brats stood up and looked at them.

"Besides, Christmas presents are boring!" Lock told them. "Not scary or gross... So what good are they?"

"Yeah!" Barrel agreed with a nod of the head.

"There's nothing fun here," Shock commented. "Let's go back to Halloween Town!"

The three filed out of the workshop, and the group went back into the living room where they met back up with Santa.

"So, were those pranksters responsible for taking the gifts?" Santa asked.

"It doesn't look like it," Jack admitted.

"Then that means..." Santa started.

The sound of the front door opening garnered their attentions. They turned towards it to see a distraught Sally running into the room.

"Sally!" Jack greeted.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Sally exclaimed in relief. "You're all here."

"Is something wrong?" Sally asked as she ran up to them.

"Probably, otherwise she wouldn't be here," Vanitas pointed out.

"The Heartless are back in the town square," Sally told them. "I thought you should know."

"That's our cue!" Sora announced.

"Back to Halloween Town!" Donald added.

Vanitas pulled out his AK-47 with the bayonet and cocked it in preparation.

"But wait!" Jack commented. "What about finding the gift-napper?"

"Actually..." Sally said, turning to face the Pumpkin King. "The Heartless were playing with some presents when I saw them..."

"Aha!" Jack exclaimed. During his next words, he pointed forwards in determination. "We have our culprits!"

They left the house and went across the town once again, taking out Heartless along the way. They went back through the portal to Halloween Town and back through the Hinterlands and the graveyard towards the town square. They heard the mayor even from the graveyard as they got closer and closer to the square.

"You! You cannot be here!" the mayor yelled. "Leave Halloween Town by order of the mayor!" He paused. "Somebody? Anybody! I'm only an elected official; I can't handle this by myself."

"Oddly realistic comment on social class," Vanitas commented as they ran into the town square, where they indeed found Wight Knights messing around with Christmas presents.

"Sally was right," Jack assessed. "We've got to get the presents!"

Sora started doing combo attacks against the Knights while Donald shot out Blizzard and Thunder and Jack charged at them covered in fire. Once Sora and the fountain knocked them in the air, Vanitas fired his rifle at the Heartless as they fell through the air, while Goofy threw his shield at them. After they took out two of the Knights, two Graveyards appeared, which had fake mini ghouls around them spinning around. One knocked Sora aside, but he recovered quickly. Vanitas fired his rifle at the Graveyards before slashing the knife at them.

A large pumpkin head and hands wielding knives popped out of one of the Graveyards, and started stabbing. Sora got knocked back by one, and Goofy was severely damaged by the subsequent stabs. Vanitas raised his left hand, and thankfully, the Graveyard rose up into the air. Vanitas ran forwards and stabbed the knife into the pumpkin head, which destroyed it. Sora's combo attacks and Jack's fire soon took out the remaining Knights. Vanitas then helped Donald and Goofy in fighting the remaining Graveyard, finishing it off in seconds.

They managed to pick up lots of the presents the Heartless dropped, but Jack found a nearby crumpled box with a doll next to it on the ground. He walked towards it with shame on his face, and to Sora and Vanitas's confusion, stepped on the doll and picked up the box.

"What a shame!" Jack commented. "It looks like it was such a nice present."

The boys furrowed their eyebrows at the doll still tucked under Jack's foot.

"Uh, Jack..." Sora started to say.

He was cut off by the door to Dr Finklestein's lab up the stairs in front of them opening. They looked up the stairs to see the mad scientist wheeling out the door with a hand on his head.

"Oh, help!" Dr Finklestein cried out. "Someone help me! My latest experiment is gone... someone stole it!"

They went up the stairs into the lab and met up with the doctor next to one of the large machines in the lab.

"I was just sitting here brainstorming, when all of a sudden I was attacked!" Dr Finklestein told them. "I collapsed! And when I woke, my experiment was gone!"

"Don't worry, Doctor, we know who took it," Jack assured him.

"We do?" Vanitas asked.

"Who!?" Dr Finklestein asked.

"The Heartless," Sora told him.

Donald nodded his head in agreement.

"What, those wretched things?" Dr Finklestein asked. "Preposterous! This was nothing like a Heartless."

"Not the Heartless, huh..." Sora said, crossing his arms in thought.

"Who else could it be?" Donald asked.

"That seems to be the question..." Vanitas said, crossing his arms in thought as well.

Jack had a finger on his head in confusion, then he looked up.

"Say, I have an idea," he told them. He turned to face them. "The thief must like Christmas presents. So, we place irreplaceable gifts about to draw him into a trap."

"And this miscreant is the same one who stole my experiment?" Dr Finklestein asked.

"Well, the timing is too perfect," Vanitas pointed out. "Something is stolen in this town, then things start being stolen in the next town over and wind up in this town. That's usually not a coincidence. Gotta be the same culprit."

"And we'll know for sure when we scare a confession right out of him!" Jack assured them.

"Gawrsh..." Goofy muttered as Donald jumped in surprise.

"What do you say we go with Jack's plan... just for now?" Sora asked Donald and Goofy.

"Let's get to Sandy's house posthaste!" Jack announced. "We've got to make some Christmas presents, quickly!"

They made their way back into Christmas Town, where they quickly met up with Santa in his living room.

"Have you found the presents yet?" Santa asked.

"Almost, Mr. Claws!" Jack assured him.

"We're going to reel in the thief with Christmas presents as bait," Sora explained.

"Would you mind if we used your factory to create a few presents?" Jack asked.

"Presents as bait?" Santa asked, looking like he wasn't a fan of that idea. "Goodness... I don't like the sound of that."

Jack looked down in embarrassment and scratched the side of his head.

"Just this once, I suppose," Santa told them. "It's for a good cause... All right, use the second floor. And put some heart in it."

They went up to the second floor and got a handle on the toy shooting gun. They used it to shoot the toys into the boxes in front of them, packing the toys in the boxes pretty quickly. Pretty soon, they had lots of presents all packed up and were storing them up against the gun.

"All done!" Donald announced as he and Sora tossed the presents in their hands up.

"Not quite," Jack corrected them.

"There's more?" Goofy asked.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the rest," Jack told them.

"Hopefully," Vanitas commented. "This is _your_ plan, after all."

Jack stayed in the room while the rest of the group went back into the living room and met back up with Santa.

"Did you finish making the presents?" Santa asked.

"Yep, just waiting for Jack," Sora told him.

"A little part of me wonders what exactly he's got planned," Vanitas admitted. "I'm also really excited to see it."

"So, uh, where do you think we oughta leave them?" Goofy asked.

Santa hummed. "Oh, I know a good spot. Whenever you're ready, just say the word."

"I'm back!" Jack announced as he walked in the room.

Santa then led them back outside and opened the doors in the side of the town square to show them a side road that lead to a plaza in the town.

"This plaza should work well for your plan," Santa told them. "Now, Jack, what _is_ your plan?"

"I've got it figured out," Jack said.

"You do..." Santa said, suspiciously.

"Of course!" Jack assured him. "And I also have a wonderful idea. If we catch the thief for you..." Santa started to frown in suspicion. "I would be honored to deliver the..."

Sora cut him off by jumping up and covered Jack's mouth with his hand.

"And on that note, we'll be going," Sora told Santa with a nervous smile.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked in confusion. "Let me go!"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy started pushing Jack towards the plaza.

"Guys, stop being dicks!" Vanitas snapped at them. He looked at Santa in confusion. "Man, what is up with me today?"

He followed the others as they went into the town plaza, setting up the presents in place for Jack's plan. As part of the centerfold, they climbed into the biggest box and stayed in place while waiting for the thief to show up.

"Stop kicking!" Donald complained.

"It's not me, Donald," Goofy told him.

"Patience, friends," Jack assured them. "Shhh!"

"I said cut it out!" Donald snapped as he made the box shake slightly.

"Gawrsh, was that you?" Goofy asked.

"How come we have to be the bait?" Sora asked.

"Good plan, eh?" Jack asked, triumph in his voice.

"Man's got a point," Vanitas commented.

"Ouch!" Donald exclaimed, jumping and making the box shake once again.

"Shh!" Vanitas told them.

They heard the sound of strong metallic footsteps entering the plaza, along with more mechanical whirring. The footsteps slowly got closer and closer, then the sound of gears shifting got at its loudest. That's when they took their cue.

"Gotcha!" Sora announced as they jumped out of the box.

"Huh?" Jack asked as they all went slightly wide eyed in confusion.

In front of them was the large experiment that they remembered seeing pieces of in Dr Finklestein's lab, but now complete and standing before them.

"Dr Finklestein's experiment did it!" Jack announced.

"How cliche is that?" Vanitas asked with furrowed eyebrows.

They got out of the box and stood in their battle stances against the experiment. Vanitas loaded a fresh magazine in his AK and cocked it in preparation. The experiment slammed its left fist in the ground, making shockwaves spread out in front of them. Sora double jumped up and used a long aerial combo to attack, while Donald blasted Thunder, Goofy charged with his shield, Jack shot out homing Blizzard, and Vanitas fired his rifle. The head then flew up and fired out a laser, which slowly floated around to attack. Its right hand then opened up and started blowing out strong winds, one of which hurt Jack.

The experiment's body then charged forwards while Goofy threw his shield at it. Sora double jumped around the experiment and did another long aerial attack while Jack blasted with Thunder and shot out another homing Blizzard. Donald jumped up and whacked the experiment with his staff while Vanitas held his rifle in both hands and smacked the butt of the stock and slammed it into the enemy. The head reattached and kept shooting out a laser, while more homing Blizzard from Jack charged after it. Sora jumped in and did another extended aerial combo, and this time once he finished, the experiment broke into pieces.

The lower stomach piece attached to the pelvic piece floated up and charged forwards, which Sora directed into the suddenly larger head. Vanitas pulled Donald out of the way as the head fired multiple lasers, and then exclaimed in pain as one hit him in the back.

"I fucking hate lasers," Vanitas exclaimed.

The pieces of the experiment then floated back to the stomach piece, and they reformed themselves into a more jumbled living mess. After Sora did another long aerial combo and Vanitas fired his rifle a bit more at the experiment, it grabbed its head piece and shot three lasers at once out of its mouth. They managed to dodge the lasers as Jack charged at the experiment encased in fire, Goofy threw his shield again, and Donald blasted up Thunder.

They kept attacking the experiment while dodging the lasers from the mouth. Within seconds, Vanitas was reminded of when they had fought the Guard Armor, because pieces of the experiment were soon destroyed piece by piece as they kept attacking. Pretty soon, they had reduced the experiment to just the lower stomach and pelvic piece. And pretty soon, their attacks managed to do enough to finish off the experiment and end the fight.

The group then gathered together and stood in their battle stances in front of the remains of the experiment. It floated in the air for a bit before it fell directly into the snow. Darkness then surged around it and then disappeared.

"Son of a bitch, it was an artificial Heartless," Vanitas muttered.

"We did it," Jack cheered. "The mystery is solved!"

The sound of jingle bells then rang out, and they looked up to see Santa's sleigh floating down above them. The sleigh parked a few feet away from them, and Santa climbed out and walked towards them.

"Did you catch the thief?" he asked.

"Naturally!" Jack told him.

"I just can't figure out why the doctor's experiment would go around stealing Christmas presents," Sora commented.

"It's an artificial Heartless," Vanitas reminded him. "And they go around stealing hearts. Maybe it knew that the presents were important were people, so it thought stealing them would be enough to take their hearts."

"His experiment?" Santa asked.

"The thief!" Jack told him. "It was a moving puppet made by Doctor Finklestein."

"Hmm..." Santa hummed as he walked towards what was left of the experiment. "The doctor made a moving puppet? I see... He is always tinkering with things."

"I guess darkness managed to get inside, and that made it into a Heartless," Vanitas theorized.

"Now listen, Jack," Santa said. During his next words, he turned around to face Jack. "I'd like to thank you, and while delivering presents is something only I can do, I can give you an idea of what it's like."

Jack's skeleton face lit up in excitement at his words.

"Sandy Claws!" he said with excitement.

At Santa's assurance, Jack climbed into the sleigh and grabbed the reins. Vanitas smiled for his friend.

"See, he just wanted a chance," Vanitas told his friends. "You guys didn't have to be dicks about it... Seriously, what is up with me today?"

During his words, Santa turned to face the remains of the experiment.

"Yes, all that poor puppet wanted was a heart," Santa told them.

They looked back towards the sleigh, and Santa winked at Jack in assurance. The group watched with smiles on their faces as Jack directed the reindeer forwards. They then started flying up, taking the sleigh and Jack with them.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Jack called out, gleefully.

The Gummi quartet said goodbye to Santa and made their way back to Halloween Town. They met up with Dr Finklesein and Sally in the town square and explained what happened to them.

"Interesting!" the mad scientist commented. "So the puppet wasn't stolen after all! It ran away on its own. In other words, my experiment was a overwhelming success!"

"I guess he was counting on his process to bring it to life to fail and for it to be possessed by darkness," Vanitas muttered to Donald.

"Santa Claus thinks maybe it left because it was trying to find a heart," Sora added.

"That's quite possible," Dr Finklestein admitted. "Unlike my Sally, it wasn't equipped with a heart."

He turned away from them and started wheeling itself to the stairs, and Vanitas winced at the thought of him trying to roll his chair up those.

"But if it wanted a heart, why would it think Christmas presents would be the way to get one?" Sora asked aloud.

"Maybe because presents are a way to give your heart to someone special," Sally suggested as she walked towards them.

Sora put a hand to his chin in thought.

"Yeah, that's a better solution than the one I came up with," Vanitas admitted. He then thought, ' _And a little sappy..._ '

"Hmm..." Sora said. "When you put it that way, I feel sort of bad for it."

The sound of bells ringing then had them looking around in confusion, and Jack suddenly fell down and landed in front of them. Looking up, they all saw Santa fly his sleigh in front of the moon just as it started snowing.

"Happy Halloween!" Santa cheered before the sleigh flew out of sight.

"What a nice present," Sally said, looking up at the falling snow.

"I don't understand," Jack admitted. "There's no box! No ribbon tied in a bow!"

"Jack, it's not about the box or the ribbons," Sora told him. "It's about what's inside the box!"

"No, Sora," Sally corrected him. "What really counts, what's really special, is the act of giving the gift. To wish deep in your heart to make someone else happy."

"Right... of course!" Jack said in realization. "Thank you, Sally, you're absolutely right."

He placed his hand to his chest in confusion.

"Wait, what's this?" Jack asked.

' _What, you're not gonna break out into the song?_ ' Vanitas thought with a slight smile. ' _Come on, Disney, you can provide_ Under the Sea _and_ Part of Your World, _but not_ What's This _?_ '

"I feel so strange..." Jack admitted as Vanitas thought that. "So very happy!"

"Jack, that must be Sally's present!" Goofy suggested.

"Really?" Jack asked. "This wonderful feeling?"

He walked forwards, took Sally's hands in his, and looked at her very happily.

"Oh, Sally!" Jack said. "You've given me the nicest present in the world! And I've nothing to give you in return. What would you like? Just name it. Absolutely anything."

Sally stared at him for a second before telling him, "The nicest present I could ever ask for, Jack, is just to be with you."

Vanitas smiled while the others did the stereotypical embarrassed friend thing of either looking away or covering their eyes.

"You don't even have to ask for that," Jack assured Sally.

She exclaimed in surprise as Jack picked her up in his arms and leaped forwards. They then started slow dancing around the town square, staring deeply into each others eyes and somehow not hitting the guillotine or the fountain.

"I thought for sure he was takin' her to get hitched," Vanitas commented.

"Maybe I never gave her a real present after all," Sora said in thought.

"Who?" Donald asked, looking up at the brunette.

Goofy put his hands on Sora's shoulders from behind in reassurance.

"Aw, I bet Kairi would like most anything you gave her," Goofy told Sora.

"Yeah, that's usually part of what made it so special," Vanitas pointed out.

"I know," Sora agreed. "That's what made it so hard to decide."

"It's not the gift, it's what's in your heart!" Donald told him.

"My heart..." Sora said in thought.

"You bet, Kairi's like Sally!" Donald added.

"How?" Sora asked.

"Well, as long as she can be with you, what else does she need?" Goofy asked.

Sora thought about that as he looked at Jack and Sally. Vanitas then saw in Sora's mind eye that he mentally replaced Jack and Sally with himself and Kairi the last time he saw her, jumping around while in the circle. It felt a little awkward for Vanitas to see, primarily because it was Kairi as they saw her last year. After Sora imagined the sound of Kairi's laughter, the mental images faded, and he laughed slightly himself.

' _Man, he doesn't even know what she looks like now,_ ' Vanitas thought before smiling. ' _Man, he will lose his..._ "

He was cut off from finishing his thought when he passed out and landed on the ground roughly. After assuring Jack and Sally that he was okay, Sora, Donald, and Goofy said goodbye and carried Vanitas back to the ship, ready for the next stage of their adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do find it pretty cool that the Experiment ended up becoming an artificial Heartless. Still have no idea how the hell that happened, but it's pretty cool nonetheless
> 
> Pride Lands, 100 Acre Wood, Space Paranoids, Sephiroth and Lingering Will, and then... then we get back to the good stuff


	27. The Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang has to face _another_ shadow of an old enemy...

The next world the group found themselves in was back in Pride Rock. They exited the ship and found themselves in the Savannah, once again in their animal forms. Sora was once again a small cub, Donald was a bird, Goofy was a turtle, and Vanitas was a monkey with his sling attached to his back. They walked across the still bare savannah towards Pride Rock, but stopped and Donald quacked in surprise at the sight of the hyena trio running towards them. They stopped in front of the quartet at the sight of them.

"Oh, it's you guys," Shenzi sighed out. "Man, we were hoping you were a meal."

"Hiya!" Sora greeted cheerfully.

"Don't give me any of that 'hiya' stuff!" Banzai snapped. "Thanks to you clowns, we're back to scavenging scraps for a living."

The Gummi quartet prepared for a fight based off of his tone of voice.

Ed laughed quite a bit while Shenzi turned around.

"Come on, it's not that bad," she rationalized as she walked away from them a bit. "I enjoyed that week-dead elephant we had yesterday."

"Hey, how's Simba?" Sora asked.

The hyena stopped in her tracks and started laughing.

"We gotta laugh every time we hear that dude's name," Banzai said with his own laugh.

"Ooh," Shenzi said with a laugh as she turned to face Banzai. "Say it again."

"Simba!" Banzai said, and Shenzi started laughing again.

"One more time!" Shenzi said.

"Simba!" Banzai said as they kept laughing. "Simba!"

The hyenas kept laughing uncontrollably for a little while. Vanitas quickly got sick of it and pulled out his Colt M1911 handgun and fired it into the ground, surprising them.

"Stop it!" Vanitas snapped.

"Yeah, that's enough!" Sora agreed.

"Go on, then, see for yourself," Shenzi told them as the three turned and stood back up. "Simba is one wishy-washy king."

Banzai commented, "Yeah, I bet about now, even some of those high and mighty lionesses were wishin' they'd gotten themselves a different king."

"Gawrsh, whaddaya think coulda happened?" Goofy asked.

"Well, let's go find Simba and see," Sora announced.

They turned back towards Pride Rock and continued walking towards the landmark. They entered the area around it and walked towards the base, but then stopped when many bits of darkness surged in front of them. The darkness grew and once it finished, a darker version of Scar appeared and faced them with his same old evil smirk.

"Scar!?" Sora exclaimed as they jumped in surprise.

Vanitas replaced his handgun with his axe as they he and Sora charged forwards. The darkened Scar disappeared just as they reached him.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"A ghost?" Donald asked.

"We better tell Simba about this," Goofy suggested. He looked up at Pride Rock. "Wonder if he's up there..."

They walked up the ramp and found themselves face to face with a lioness next to the entrance to the king's den.

"Have you come to see Simba?" she asked.

"We saw Scar's ghost!" Sora exclaimed.

"That's... not Nala..." Vanitas muttered, knowing the others probably weren't listening.

"An omen like that could only be foretelling the end of our pride," the lioness told them. "Yet... King Simba won't do a thing. I guess being the son of the great King Mufasa doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to rule the kingdom himself."

"Trust me, Simba will think of something," Sora assured her.

"The time for thinking is past," the lioness remarked. "We need him to take action, as his father would have done. He ruled with courage and pride. I remember it like it was yesterday... The mighty Mufasa..."

"Simba will do that, too," Sora told her. "You'll see!"

"I'm not so sure," the lioness admitted.

She walked past them and down the path down the rock ramp once more.

"Sometimes, I hate subordinates that act like they know everything," Vanitas commented.

"Let's go talk to Simba," Sora suggested.

They entered The King's Den and found Simba resting in a spot that looked like it was supposed to be a bed. Their lion friend looked up at them with a sad smile.

"You came back..." Simba greeted.

"Are you okay?" Donald asked.

"You don't look so good," Goofy commented.

Simba closed his eyes and rested his head against the ground.

"Hey, Simba," Sora said. "Why don't we team up and do something about that Scar ghost? Seems like everybody's worried about it. So, now's your big chance to show 'em what you're really made of!"

Simba growled slightly and stood. He snapped at them, "That doesn't concern you!"

The Gummi quartet jumped in surprise at his anger.

"Sorry..." Simba said, looking down.

"It's okay," Sora said, still a little afraid.

Simba looked to the side and admitted, "I just wish I knew what my father would do."

"But he's not here, Simba," Goofy pointed out. "It's all up to you now. And that means the important thing is what you're gonna do being the king. Not what your father woulda done."

"So you're saying..." Simba said, looking down in thought again. "It's all up to me..."

"See, there ya go!" Sora reassured him.

"Exactly!" Timon and Pumbaa announced.

The group turned to see the two standing next to them.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Vanitas muttered, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"We know your dad was a great king, and all," Timon told Simba. During his next words, he walked up to the lion. "But now it's your turn. Remember what I taught ya. 'You gotta put the past behind you'. It's time to go out there and show everybody things are gonna be just fine!"

"Yeah, you can do it!" Sora reassured Simba again.

"You gotta live for today!" Timon added.

"And find your own path!" Pumbaa added, walking towards them with a wide smile and looking side to side with closed eyes.

"Live for today..." Simba said in thought. "And find my own path... Not my father's..."

"That's it!" Sora said.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas added.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Simba," Nala said as she entered the den and walked up to Simba.

"Nala!" Donald greeted.

Nala walked up next to Simba and looked at the Gummi quartet.

"Promise me you'll help Simba any way you can," Nala requested.

"As long as Sora and V handle the dangerous parts!" Timon commented.

"I'm counting on you, Simba..." Nala said as the two lions smiled at each other. "And so is our baby."

The boys were surprised but smiled at that news.

"Kinda wonder how they figure out that stuff, but who cares?" Vanitas muttered to himself.

"Great!" Timon said with slight annoyance. "Now we're going to have to babysit!"

Everyone burst into laughter at the meerkat's words.

"Let's go see Rafiki first," Simba suggested. "I'm sure he'll be able to tell us something about that ghost."

They left the den and went down Pride Rock before entering the small cave at the base of the tree, serving as Rafiki's home. They greeted the baboon, who stopped whatever he was doing at the sight of them.

"Oh ho ho!" he laughed with great enthusiasm. "The king, he is ready to be king?"

"I think so," Simba admitted.

"Can you tell us about Scar's ghost?" Simba quickly asked.

"Oh, yes... the ghost," Rafiki said. "A being with no body. It is created when the evil heart of Scar meets the hesitating heart of Simba."

"Hesitating?" Simba asked.

"Ohhh..." Rafiki said in realization. "You thought you were not?"

"Gawrsh, that ghost sounds just like a Heartless," Goofy commented.

"Oh, my god, it _is_ a Heartless!" Vanitas exclaimed in realization. "They blend into the worlds they go to, this one is posing as a ghost of that prick."

"I don't know..." Sora said in thought.

"You're right, you don't," Rafiki agreed with Sora. "But you do know it is upsetting. And it is upsetting the hearts of everybody in the Pride Lands. You may not know what it is, but it still _is_."

' _I'm right seventeen times about a whole lot of shit, but they still question my judgement_ ,' Vanitas thought in annoyance. ' _What? Just 'cause the first time I met them I was lying through my teeth? Actually, now that I think about it, that makes a lot of sense..._ '

"This world, it is full of many such things," Rafiki told them as Vanitas thought that. "And these things, a kind must face. It is the test that has been set for you, Simba."

"That's all?" Simba asked. "Come on. You have to tell us more about the ghost..."

"No, not today!" Rafiki denied. "But the hyenas in the elephant graveyard may know more. Does not matter, though. There is little the Simba of late can do."

"Aw, don't say that!" Sora exclaimed. "Not when he's ready to try!"

"In his head, perhaps..." Rafiki agreed. "But what about his heart?"

Simba turned away from the monkey to the others.

"Forget it, Sora," he told the brunette. "Let's head for the elephant graveyard."

They left the cave and Pride Rock back into the Savannah. They went across the landscape, fighting through Heartless along the way. Slashing through Neoshadows and Living Bones with Shamen on top, they made their way into the elephant graveyard. There, they found the area had some torches set up all around in decoration, which weren't there before.

"Whoa..." Sora said in surprise at the new appearance of the area.

"What, torches make things more foreboding?" Vanitas asked. "'Cause... it kind of works. But who the hell put those up? There aren't a lot of people around here with thumbs..."

Their attentions were soon drawn to the hyena trio nearby.

"Hey, you!" Donald called out to them.

"Aw, c'mon, can't you guys just leave us alone?" Banzai complained.

"Do you three know anything about Scar's ghost?" Simba asked.

"Huh?" Shenzi asked. "Scar's ghost?"

Ed started laughing just as wildly as usual, then started running down the path behind them.

"Maaybe," Banzai said cryptically before he and Shenzi followed the other hyena.

"You _do_ know!" Sora snapped.

They chased the hyenas all around the elephant graveyard and attacked them with their weapons to stop them from running. Sora did lots of combo attacks and Thunder, Donald blasted lots of Blizzard, Goofy smacked his shield lots of times, Simba roared out energy and slashed with his claws, and Vanitas swung his BO staff into them, sometimes in very delicate places. They cornered the hyenas in front of the wall, and who looked up at the boys.

"Oh no..." Banzai said with a sarcastic laugh. "I guess you caught us _all_."

"What're we gonna do?" Shenzi asked with a sarcastic laugh of her own.

Vanitas pulled out a 50 calibre handgun and fired it at a rock in front of the three, causing some of it to break and make them jump.

"Cut the bullshit!" Vanitas snapped.

"Yeah, tell me about Scar's ghost!" Simba added.

"Sorrry," Banzai said with annoyance. "We don't know nothin'."

"Oh, wait!" Shenzi said in fake realization. "It's coming back to me! That's the one that only hangs around fraidy cats. Right, Banzai?"

"Enough!" Simba snapped.

Ed laughed wickedly as the sound of darkness surging happened behind them. They turned around, the Gummi quartet frowning and Simba looking worried as they faced the Scar ghost.

"And there it is!" Shenzi said with a laugh. "Must be a fraidy cat around here somewhere!"

The Scar ghost looked at them with the same evil looking smirk.

"Simba!" Sora said. "Do something!"

"How does it feel to be king, hmm?" Scar's ghost asked. "Why, you must be a truly inspiring ruler by now." Simba backed up during his next words. "After all, you _are_ the son of the great Mufasa."

Simba then quickly turned and ran down one of the roads towards the exit of the elephant graveyard.

"Where're you going?" Sora called out.

"Ah, Simba... running away as always," the ghost taunted.

Vanitas fired his gun at the ghost and it disappeared in a flash of darkness.

"Simba!" Sora called after their friend.

The hyenas laughed as they walked away from the group.

"Gawrsh, Rafiki was right," Goofy said with concern on his face.

"You mean, Simba's still unsure?" Sora asked.

"Seems like," Goofy said. "Do ya think there's some way we can help?"

"Hmm..." Sora hummed in thought. "We should start by talking to Simba some more. Let's head back to the Pride Lands."

They traveled back across the Savannah where they met up with Timon and Pumbaa before meeting up with Nala and Rafiki at the bottom of the slope.

"Where's Simba?" Nala asked.

"Well, uh..." Sora said in thought.

"Oh ho ho!" Rafiki exclaimed. "He ran away! I knew it would not be easy for him. To face his fears, he must go somewhere where the only thing to think of is what to do, not what others think of him."

' _"To face his fears..."_ ' Vanitas thought with a smirk. ' _How does he know the opening theme to the next big game?_ ' *** _1_ ***

"Why didn't you just say so?" Sora asked.

"He doesn't like giving straight answers," Vanitas commented.

"But where's Simba now?" Donald asked.

"Hey, I know!" Timon announced, walking up with Pumbaa. "He's at the oasis. It's our favorite hangout!"

"Got it!" Sora said. "Let's check it out."

"I'll lead the way!" Pumbaa announced.

"Oh, no you won't!" Timon denied. "Simba'll smell you coming a mile away. And if he's smart, he'll run for the hills!"

"Oh... right," Pumbaa said with embarrassment.

"Guys, we remember the way, we're alright," Vanitas assured them.

The Gummi quartet left Pride Rock and went back across the Savannah. Like before, they went through Wildebeest Valley and the various jungles before they reached the Oasis, where they found Simba backing away from the ghost of Scar. He reached the edge of the cliff and exclaimed as he looked down at it.

"Simba!" Sora exclaimed.

They went across the area, and the ghost disappeared in response. Simba looked down in shame.

"It's no use," he said. "I'll never be the king my father was."

"But Simba..." Sora said as they walked up to the lion. "That's not what you're supposed to be."

"Yeah, becoming a new king isn't about being an exact copy of the prior king," Vanitas added.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "You can't be Mufasa. You can only be you. Everybody believes in you as a king. They just want to see what you'll do. And if anyone's saying they liked your father better, it's because you haven't done much yet. That's all."

"I know that," Simba said.

"Then stop moping and _do_ something!" Sora exclaimed.

"I cant!" Simba exclaimed, looking away and out at the landscape behind him.

"...Fine," Sora said after a second.

"Let's go, Sora," Donald said.

"Yeah," Sora agreed as he and Donald turned and started walking away. "Why stick around if he's not even gonna try?"

Goofy and Vanitas stayed and looked at their friend in worry.

"C'mon, guys!" Sora told them.

They turned and followed the other two to hide behind the log that was serving as a bridge over the small stream. Scar's ghost appeared once more, and Simba turned to face the ghost.

"The hesitant king will one day lose all his friends," Sora impersonated Scar.

"King Simba the doubtful..." Donald added.

"Worried by a silly ol' ghost..." Goofy added.

"This shit's actually working?" Vanitas muttered with furrowed eyebrows as they watched Simba's expression turn from sadness to anger.

"Ooh, Simba, the do-nothing king..." Sora added.

"No!" Simba exclaimed.

"Try and stop me!" Donald mock taunted.

Simba roared out as he lunged through the ghost, making it disappear in a surge of darkness again.

"Huh?" Simba asked, looking around.

The Gummi quartet ran towards him, quickly garnering his attention.

"You did it!" Sora exclaimed as they reached their friend. "The ghost is gone!"

"We knew you could do it!" Donald cheered.

"Nice goin', man!" Vanitas cheered, wondering how the hell their ploy actually worked.

"Hooray for Simba!" Goofy cheered.

"You know, I'm really lucky to have friends who'll stand by me..." Simba told them. "And help me see clearly. My father... wasn't so fortunate."

"There you go again," Sora complained.

"I mean..." Simba said. "Everyone here, and in the Pride Lands, wants me to succeed. Sora, V, Donald, Goofy. Pumbaa, Timon, Rafiki... Nala." He turned away from them and looked towards the ledge again. "You all want what's best for me. But my father always had Scar lurking behind his back, trying to cut us down. I've got to make the most of my blessings, and rebuild this kingdom."

"Are you gonna say it, or do it?" Sora asked.

"Wait and see," Simba promised them.

"Simba!" Timon's voice called out from the entrance of the Oasis.

The group looked towards the entrance of the Oasis, and watched as the meerkat breathlessly ran into the area and stopped briefly to catch his breath.

"Simba!" Timon exclaimed. "Come quick! There's a bazillion ghosts of Scar haunting the Pride Lands! Everybody but Nala high-tailed it outta there. And now she needs your help."

The group ran towards the meerkat and Simba went past them, towards the way back out. Timon sighed out in pride.

"Our little Simba..." Timon sighed as he crossed his arms and the others stood next to him. "All grown up and finding his place in the world..."

"Nice try," Simba called from the path. "You're coming, too!"

The others followed Simba back out of the Oasis and back the way they came. They exited the jungle and the various parts of dry land, went back across Wildebeest Valley and the Savannah, reaching Pride Rock once more. Nala and Pumbaa were forced to the edge of the main ledge by a Scar ghost.

"We're here!" Sora announced as they went up the slope.

"Where's Simba?" Nala called out.

The Gummi quartet stopped as Simba walked up. They bowed as their king friend walked up the slope and towards the Scar ghost. Nala smiled at the sight of him.

"I've come back, Nala," Simba announced.

The Scar ghost walked towards Simba, and everyone else watched as the two faced had a long stare down, which reminded Vanitas of a movie, but he didn't remember what movie.

"Get out!" Simba snapped, making the Scar Ghost jump back in surprise.

Darkness surged once again, and the ghost disappeared.

"Way to go, Simba!" Sora cheered as Nala and Pumbaa ran up to them.

Nala and Simba enthusiastically greeted each other while Pumbaa joined the rest of the boys.

But then their attentions were drawn to the left as darkness surged all through the air nearby. The darkness gathered in a specific spot in the middle of the Savannah and continued to grow.

"Are you with me?" Simba asked, turning towards the others.

"Now and forever, Your Majesty!" Sora informed him.

"Taking these pricks out is our job, after all," Vanitas admitted as the other three bowed again.

They ran out into the Savannah where the darkness soon surged enough that it transformed into a gigantic Heartless called a Groundshaker.

"I told you it was a Heartless!" Vanitas exclaimed, pointing up at the gigantic monster designed like a double horned bull headed elephant with a monkey shaman on top.

Somehow, Donald and Goofy disappeared, and Vanitas climbed onto Simba's back as they started charging around the Savannah. They ran around the legs as they slammed into the ground, dodging the shockwaves. After a few dodges, Sora leaped up at one of the front legs with his Keyblade in mouth, and Vanitas leaped forwards with his machete in hand to help. They fended off the giant paw and managed to force their way up into the air. They then lunged through the neck, knocking down the Groundshaker into a stun. The head and pieces of the neck fell down and onto the ground.

Sora then jumped up and started doing aerial combos against one of the eyes, while Vanitas pulled out a SPAS 12 and fired at the same spot, and Simba leaped up to slash with his claws. While they attacked, the neck reformed itself and after a few seconds of them attacking like that, the Groundshaker recovered and leaped up into the air. It slammed into the ground far down the Savannah, and the group charged at it, with Vanitas once again riding on Simba's back due to his short legs. They then used aerial maneuvers to leap up onto the back of the elephant, giving themselves an opportunity to fight the monkey shaman.

Sora and Vanitas managed to attack the shaman head, knocking a mask off of it, which Vanitas sensed was the weak spot. Vanitas fired his shotgun before it clicked empty while Sora did more combo attacks.

"Now I kinda regret giving the infinite D'Eagle to Jack," Vanitas admitted.

He then lunged to the side as the monkey shaman slipped the mask back on, then disappeared and sent out shots of electricity. Sora joined Vanitas in leaping to the side, and they fell off the giant horned elephant, falling back to the ground. Vanitas pulled out his Sadu Asalt 96 and slipped a fresh magazine inside. The three charged at the head as it rotated and made the eyes, the weak spots, get closer to the ground and close enough for them to attack.

Sora used aerial then ground combo attacks, then cast Reflera as fire randomly appeared around him, causing the shockwaves to attack. Simba slashed with his claws and roared out energy while Vanitas fired his Romanian automatic with one hand.

"Monkey shooting a machine gun with one hand," Vanitas muttered to himself with a smile. "You don't see that everyday. I should _so_ put this on a tee-shirt..."

The Groundshaker leaped up again and once again landed pretty far down the Savannah, causing shockwaves again. The three charged at the Heartless and continued their attacks once they got close enough. Sora had to cast Reflera a few more times as fire appeared and got closer to him. While Vanitas reloaded his automatic, he lobed a fireball with his hand to make up for not being able to attack while his gun was empty. Then large bursts of fire suddenly appeared and knocked them back, causing significant damage.

The Heartless leaped up and landed on the ground across the Savannah. They charged at the Groundshaker and Vanitas rode on Simba's back once again as they dodged the shockwaves from slams on the ground. While riding on Simba's back, he fired up at the Groundshaker's stomach before realizing, "That ain't doing jack shit." After dodging some more shockwaves, Sora and Vanitas leaped up with their blades and Fended off against one giant paw once more. They forced their way up into the air then lunged through the neck, once again knocking down the Groundshaker into a stun. Once more, the head and pieces of the neck fell down onto the ground.

The three of them kept up their attacks, Sora doing aerial combos, Simba slashing his claws and roaring out energy, and Vanitas firing his automatic. When it looked like the Heartless was recovering, Vanitas reached into his sling and pulled out an RPG-7. He fired at the eye and the warhead exploded, causing a big explosion and ending the fight.

Donald and Goofy suddenly reappeared and joined the group in looking up at the Groundshaker as it writhed. The elephant tossed the monkey shaman off before disappearing. The monkey shaman rolled on the ground as the mask broke off. The monkey shaman then glowed and released a crystal like heart into the air before they both disappeared.

They went back to Pride Rock where Simba and Nala stood at the edge of the slope looking up in the air while the others watched them from the slope up.

"Simba seems fine now," Sora commented.

"Ha!" Rafiki laughed. "The king has returned! The Pride Lands will not forget King Simba's courage. Or the courage of those who fought beside him."

Simba and Nala turned towards the others and walked down to face them a bit better.

"Do you think your quest will ever be over?" Simba asked.

"I don't know," Sora admitted. "But I think, as long as the Keyblade stays with me, I'll have to keep fighting."

"No, you don't," Vanitas commented. "I had a Keyblade for three years before I even had to start fighting big enough threats. I.E, a bald douche bag that gave me amnesia."

"Ah... the struggle never ends," Rafiki commented. "That is the great Circle of Life."

"Never ever?" Sora asked in distraught.

"The secret to victory... is a strong heart," Rafiki told him. He pointed up into the air, and they followed his finger up into the air.

"Go on, go on, go on, go then!" Rafiki exclaimed, pointing out into the distance past them before laughing. "Go on, get out! Yes, yes! It is time! Your fight continues..."

He gestured forwards with his staff to gesture to them leaving. Sora looked towards Simba.

"Till we meet again, Your Majesty," he told Simba.

"I hope that's soon," Simba admitted.

"Same," Vanitas said. "After I get my life force back, I wanna cross 'get high with a talking lion' off my bucket list."

Sora ignored Vanitas as he promised, "It will be! So long!"

They turned towards Timon and Pumbaa and nodded at their friends. Before anyone could say anything else, Vanitas passed out once more. Sora managed to perch his ravenette lookalike onto his back and started down the slope down Pride Rock with the others. They left the rock and went across the Savannah towards the Gummi Ship, ready for the next part of their adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 I read this joke comment in the episode of the Timeline, and I couldn't resist including it in the story
> 
> Done with the next to last Disney world in the game. Just one more, 100 Acre Wood, which is part of the next world, Hollow Bastion. After that is Sephiroth and the Lingering Will, then the last arc of the game, The World That Never Was. We're getting pretty close to the end, guys, which I still have a pretty hard time believing. Let's do it...


	28. The Restoration of Hollow Bastion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group returns to Hollow Bastion, where they help the town and Tron in a pretty big way...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot the order in the least chapter, it's restore Hollow Bastion, then 100 Acre Wood. So, we're getting this out of the way then the Wood, then the secret bosses and Twilight Town

The next world the group found themselves in was once _again_ Hollow Bastion. Like times before, they found themselves on the balcony like area that gave them a clear view of the castle. The sound of metal rattling drew their attentions, and they looked back to see Soldiers running across the nearest rooftop and out of sight. They watched in confusion, and Sora and Vanitas had their arms crossed for a second.

"Wait a minute... I thought everything was under control here!" Sora commented.

"They were, 'cause we personally took out that entire Heartless army," Vanitas reminded him. "Something's up."

Donald and Goofy's attentions were drawn to the appearances of the town Claymores appearing, but they were different. Whereas before they were blue, they were now a mixture of yellow and brown.

"Hey, look!" Donald announced, drawing Sora and Vanitas's attentions to the Claymores.

"Must be Organization XIII again," Sora assessed. "We better go see Leon."

While Vanitas didn't like that they kept blaming Organization XIII for everything, he didn't see much of another explanation. He had already seen in visions that Xemnas could get through the security to the main computer pretty easily. Who knew what the prick could do with the town's mechanics?

"Let's get rollin'," Vanitas announced.

They went down the steps and found Cloud in the middle of the marketplace. They walked up to their friend, but didn't get the reaction they were hoping for.

"I'm not interested in what happens to this world," the blonde admitted. "Besides, you guys and the others should be enough to handle things."

"Well, hopefully once you take the prick out, that opinion will change, eh?" Vanitas asked.

"Maybe..." Cloud said, turning away from them and walking back across the marketplace. *** _1_ ***

They walked up the next set of stairs where they found Scrooge holding a bar of Sea Salt ice cream in his hand.

"Bless me bagpipes!" he announced. "I did it! I recreated Sea Salt ice cream!"

"Mmm!" Donald said. "Can we try some?"

"Of course!" Scrooge told them.

He handed the bar in his hand to Donald, who took it. Donald took a bite from the bar, and smiled.

"Oh, boy!" he announced. "This is good!"

The others got bars of their own and started taking bites. Vanitas smiled at the nostalgia from when he was on the tower with Roxas, Axel, and Xion.

"So salty!" Sora commented.

"But sweet!" Goofy pointed out.

"Aye," Scrooge agreed. "It's unique! When I was a lad, all the kids were crazy for it."

"I see why," Vanitas commented, knowing the unique thing was bull crap, since he had it on an entirely different world.

They soon finished their bars and moved on back into the Borough. They moved into the alley in front of Merlin's house, and Donald exclaimed in surprise as a Claymore flew past him roughly. Then they were all surprised when Strafers, Heartless from Tron's world, appeared in front of them.

The group pulled out their weapons, with Vanitas pulling out an axe, as a Devastator then appeared. Sora cast Magnera and picked up the Strafers, giving them better targets. Donald blasted Thunder while Sora did an aerial attack, Vanitas hacked his axe, and Goofy threw his shield. Sora was then knocked out of the air by an electric orb from the Devastator.

Sora then slid up to the Devastator and started attacking it while Donald and Goofy took on the Strafers. Vanitas joined his doppelganger in fighting the Devastator while Donald kept blasting Thunder and Blizzard and Goofy slid around on his shield in an attack like it was a sleigh. They took out the remaining Strafers while Sora and Vanitas finished off the Devastator, all while dodging the Claymores which suddenly started attacking them.

With the Heartless destroyed, the door to Merlin's door creaked open, and Yuffie popped her head out with Stitch on her shoulder. She walked out, and the Gummi quartet ran up to her.

"Come on it!" Yuffie told them.

"Hu-ry," Stitch added, climbing onto Vanitas' shoulders as the two ravenettes kissed.

"Wait just a second..." Sora said in thought. "What happened to this place?"

"Didn't that Heartless look like the ones from Tron's world?" Goofy asked.

"C'mon, just get inside!" Yuffie told them.

Yuffie ran inside and the boys followed, finding her, Merlin, and Cid hard at work at the computer.

"Hurry up, Cid!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Give me a second!" Cid told her.

"Confound it!" Merlin exclaimed. "Hurry!"

"Why, you...!" Cid growled.

The group walked up to the computer, confused.

"What's going on?" Sora asked.

The three of them turned towards the boys.

"Talk about yer good timin'!" Cid commented.

"The MCP is wreaking havoc inside the computer," Yuffie told them.

"Not again!" Donald complained.

"Accordin' to Leon, anyway," Cid admitted. "He went on over to Ansem's study to find out what all the ruckus was about."

Vanitas grabbed his head as a vision of Leon and Aerith walking into Ansem's study and doing exactly that. Leon entered the secret corridor and jumped in surprise at the sight of the hundreds of exit ports in the walls suddenly active. He looked over the railing before running into the computer room and pressing a few keys to open the side door. He ran into the elevator and took it down to ground level, getting a good sight of the exit pads and the ports in front of him. There was electricity surging around the ports, shooting down to the pads and making Magnum Loaders appear before they disappeared in teleportation.

"Turns out the MCP is using the data in that computer to crank out Heartless," Cid continued as Leon kept looking at the sight in front of him in the vision in horror.

In the vision, two Magnum Loaders charged at Leon, and he took them both out with a single slash of his Gunblade. He then turned away from the exit pads and ran back to the elevator. The vision then shifted to show the Magnum Loaders and Strafers appeared in the alley and slide down the road. It shifted one more time to show the changed Claymores.

"The MCP's been messin' around with the town's control system, too," Cid added.

The vision shifted once more to show Leon and Aerith in the computer room, looking around in confusion as an alarm went off. Leon's eyes then went wide at the main screen as a message came up. Leon ran up to the computer and started clacking on the keyboard as the main screen and all the other screens showed the same message, " _Ignorant Users. Obey the MCP_."

"That MCP sure doesn't know when to quit, does it?" Yuffie asked.

"Apparently not," Vanitas commented as the vision ended. "Bet Ansem never would have figured his computer AI system would become self aware. Left us with our own Skynet. Except with Heartless instead of Terminators."

"How's Tron doing?" Sora asked.

"We can't reach him," Yuffie admitted. "We figure he must have been forced onto the Game Grid."

"And it don't sound like a particularly fun game, either," Cid commented.

"Aww..." Donald said in worry of their friend.

"We'll go check on Tron," Sora told them.

"Thanks, kid," Cid said. "We're puttin' together an MCP Eradication program. I got a hunch it's almost finished, too." *** _2_ ***

"Well, I hope your hunch is right for once!" Merlin commented, looking at Cid.

"Listen, we're gonna need Tron's help when that Eradicator's completed," Yuffie told them as Cid and Merlin looked at each other angrily.

"Don't sweat it," Sora assured her. "We'll make sure to tell Tron!"

Merlin and Cid looked at the group again as Vanitas gave Stitch his third chicken leg since he had been on his shoulders.

"Remember boys, we're counting on you," Merlin told them.

"Roger!" Sora said.

Donald and Goofy nodded their heads in agreement.

"Stay here with the others, buddy," Vanitas told Stitch, handing the blue furred alien a styrofoam package of many more chicken legs. "We'll see you soon."

"Got it, V!" Stitch said with a nod of the head before jumping towards Yuffie and landing on her shoulders.

"Gotta admit, this guy is cute!" Yuffie said with a laugh. "I see why brought him into the fold."

"So is he really the mascot for the Restoration Committee?" Sora asked with a smile, remembering Vanitas's earlier joke.

"We haven't made it official, but it looks like we're getting to that point," Cid admitted.

"Brought me in, brought in Stitch, this world is almost as good at taking in foreigners as Traverse Town," Vanitas said with a smile.

He shared a goodbye kiss with Yuffie before going back outside into the Borough. They went up the stairs and through the still ruined bailey, taking out Heartless normal to both this world and Tron's world along the way. They went down the back passage out of town and towards the castle postern. Given the nature of all the Heartless, they were a little on edge.

"Liars!" a female voice called out.

Vanitas exclaimed in surprise and fired an MP5K into the ground three times. Luckily, the person talking to them wasn't on the ground, but floating in the air.

"Oh, it's just those crazy bitches who were with Maleficent," Vanitas sighed out in relief at the sight of the Gull Wings.

"Leon doesn't have any treasure!" Rikku snapped at them.

"And we fought for you guys," Paine commented, looking down.

The boys quickly figured out what they were talking about as they remembered their last meeting with the girls.

"Donald...?" Goofy asked the mallard.

"Well, I had to tell them something!" Donald said to defend his actions.

"I don't see how we're gonna work this out," Yuna announced.

"So what should we do?" Sora asked.

"Guys, we're a little pre-occupied for this," Vanitas commented, looking towards the Gull Wings. "So, if you could just file something at the complaint department, we'll get back to you in about sixteen months."

The three winged girls turned away from them and started conversing with themselves, in that same manner from the last time the boys had seen them. The four watched in annoyance as the girls eventually turned back to face them.

"We're just going to have to take _your_ treasure," Yuna announced.

"But we don't have anything!" Sora told them.

"You sure?" Paine asked.

Rikku flew up to Sora.

"Hmm... let's take a look," she said as she flew around the brunette in consideration.

Vanitas crossed his arms in annoyance, his right hand still holding his machine gun. Rikku then flew around an angry looking Donald before flying towards Goofy.

"Oooh!" she exclaimed in interest.

Rikku flew towards Vanitas, but he kept his blank face as he pointed his MP5K at her. She chuckled nervously before flying back to Yuna and muttering in her ear.

"Okay, we've decided!" Yuna announced. "The Gull Wings are taking all your items!"

"You gotta be kidding me!" Sora exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's not happening," Vanitas denied, lifting up his machine gun again.

"Oh, foofie!" Yuna complained.

"This stinks!" Rikku complained.

"So not cool..." Paine commented.

"Well, that's life," Vanitas told them. "It fucking sucks."

"Look, we're sorry we tricked you, but..." Sora started.

"Forget about it," Paine said, surprising the boys a bit. "Leon told us the whole story. He said your journey's been pretty rough."

"So it really wouldn't be right if we took your things," Yuna admitted.

"We'll root for you," Rikku told them. "Here, this is from us."

She gestured to the wall behind them, and a large chest appeared in a flash of light.

"Bye!" Yuna told them. "Good luck on your journey!"

The three of them posed together before disappearing in a flash of light.

"So, they just did all that just to give us a gift?" Vanitas asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

They shrugged it off and opened the chest, which turned out to be another keychain for Sora's Keyblade. The group then moved on through the castle hallways and into Ansem's study. They went into the computer room and found Leon and Aerith facing the door to the elevator. At the sound of footsteps, the two of them turned towards the group and stood ready for battle.

"Gawrsh, it's only us!" Goofy told them.

"Can't be too careful," Vanitas informed them. "What with all the Heartless around."

They walked further into the room and met up with their friends in front of the computer.

"You can't talk to Tron if this room gets taken over," Aerith told them.

"Did you check in with Cid?" Leon asked.

"Uh-huh," Sora assured them.

"And the Eradicator?" Leon asked.

"They're working on it," Vanitas assured him.

"It's almost done," Donald added.

"Great!" Aerith said. She looked up at Leon. "Say, Leon, why don't you go work with Cid? I have this place under control."

"Are you sure?" Leon asked, looking at Aerith. "All by yourself...?"

Aerith frowned at Leon, and Vanitas laughed.

' _Don't test her, or she'll beat you so hard your own game's gonna feel it, Squall_ ,' Vanitas thought, which the other three heard in their heads, causing some confusion. *** _3_ ***

"...Er, sorry," Leon said. "It's all yours."

"Want a rifle?" Vanitas asked.

"No thank you," Aerith said before turning to the elevator and walking towards the doors.

"How's Tron?" Sora asked.

"We still can't get in touch with him," Leon admitted. "Maybe you guys should give it a shot."

"No, we'll go talk to him in person," Sora told him.

"It's more fun that way," Vanitas commented.

"Then I have a favor to ask," Leon said. "When you find Tron, could you tell him to come to the I/O tower? That's where we'll upload the MCP Eradicator program."

"The I/O tower," Goofy repeated. "Got it!"

"Thanks," Leon said. "And watch your backs."

Leon ran past them and out of the computer room, on his way back to the de facto base of Merlin's house. Sora and Vanitas walked up to the computer and read the message from the MCP on one of the side monitors.

"We'll be there soon, Tron," Sora promised.

Vanitas accessed the computer and they all moved in front of the mechanism on the wall. Like before, light grew before it flashed and outlined the four in squares. Little beams then shout out and started digitizing them into the computer until they were all gone.

* * *

The four of them reappeared in the Pit Cell that they originally met Tron in, which Vanitas thought was lucky. Along the way, he had seen the outside of the cell, and saw the place practically crawling with Devastators, Magnum Loaders, and Strafers.

"Gawrsh, I hope Tron's okay," Goofy said.

"Me, too," Sora said. "Let's head for the Game Grid."

He and Vanitas walked up to the terminal in front of them, and were relieved at the sight.

"Hot damn!" Vanitas cheered.

"The terminal works!" Sora told Donald and Goofy.

"Let's go!" Donald announced, and Goofy nodded his head in agreement.

They accessed the terminal, and disappeared in another flash of light.

Along the way, Vanitas had another vision of Merlin's house. Leon arrived, surprisingly quickly, and Cid made a quip about Merlin being old, which _really_ set off the magician. Just as the computer released the disk for the Eradicator program, Merlin's spell hit the computer and blew it up, sending Cid to the ground. Cid gave Leon the disk and started running away from Merlin through the house as Leon left once again, Stitch on his shoulders with a blaster in each hand.

The vision ended as light flared, and the four found themselves in the Light Cycle arena, right in front of the giant hole from before. There were walls on three sides around them, keeping in Tron and the many Heartless he dodged.

"Tron!" Sora called out.

Tron threw his disk and looked over his shoulder at them. "Careful! Watch out!"

He caught his disk just as a Devastator blast hit the ground behind him, forcing him to the ground. Vanitas pulled out his sledgehammer and a SIG Sauer handgun and the group stood in their battle stances.

"Hold on!" Sora told him.

They stood together with two Magnum Loaders in front of them, and two more Devastators, one on each side of the Loaders. Sora cast Magnera, which picked up all the enemies, giving them better targets. Sora jumped up with an aerial combo, Donald repeatedly blasted magic, Goofy threw his shield, and Vanitas swung his sledgehammer with one hand and fired his handgun in the other. They managed to take out the Magnum Loaders pretty easily, but the Devastators weren't as easy. They had to repeatedly dodge the electric attacks before delivering their own with their weapons. After a little while of attacking, the Devastators were destroyed.

Then four more Magnum Loaders appeared. Vanitas hit one in the wheel with his hammer and knocked it to the ground. He placed his foot down to keep it on the ground and fired at its head until it was destroyed. Goofy swung his shield at one and then spun around to attack, soon finishing it off. Donald whacked his staff into one, cast fire, then hit it one more time to destroy it. Sora attacked the last one with combo attacks and finished it off with a pretty cool aerial finisher, ending the battle.

Light soon flared around the group, then they found themselves back in the Pit Cell, this time with Tron. The program turned towards them.

"You really saved me," Tron said gratefully.

"Don't mention it!" Sora assured him.

"It was no sweat," Vanitas added.

"What's going on here?" Donald asked.

"The MCP is ready to wage all-out war against the Users," Tron told them. "What's been happening on the outside?"

Sora crossed his arms and explained, "Well, there's this machine for making Heartless; it's gone totally berserk... The town's control system is having problems, too."

"Classic AI gone wrong situation," Vanitas commented.

"But Cid's putting together a program that can de-rezz the MCP," Sora assured him. "Once we pick it up at the I/O tower, he thinks we can use it to stop the MCP for good."

"Let's try it!" Tron announced.

"Great!" Sora said.

"So who's this Cid?" Tron asked, suddenly curious.

"He's a friend of ours," Sora told him. "Leon, Merlin, Aerith, Yuffie..."

"Don't forget Stitch," Vanitas said, pointing at Sora with a smile on his face.

"They're all on the outside worrying about you, Tron," Sora said, ignoring Vanitas.

Tron looked at the walls around them in amazement.

"I must have a lot of User friends," he commented.

"That program oughta be done by now, don'tcha think?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah, he's on his way," Vanitas informed them.

"To the tower!" Donald announced.

"Let's go!" Tron added.

They started their way through Space Paranoids to the I/O tower, battling Heartless along the way. During the trip, Vanitas had a vision of Leon and Stitch reaching the castle Postern, and slash and blast through Strafers and a Devastator with ease before moving on.

"They're getting close!" Vanitas informed his friends as they entered the tower.

"So are we!" Sora exclaimed as they ran through the hallway.

They entered the room where they had fought the Hostile Program and ran towards the staircase that led to the Communications Room.

"Almost there!" Tron announced.

"Oh, why'd you have to say that?" Vanitas asked with an upset face.

Just as he expected, once they reached the center of the room, Strafers appeared around them.

"Outta the way!" Sora snapped at the Heartless as they stood in their battle stances.

Vanitas fired a Remington 870 shotgun at one Strafer and knocked it back while Sora cast Magnera, giving them better targets. Tron threw his disk, Donald blasted Thunder, Goofy threw his shield, and Sora did a full aerial combo. The Strafers were soon destroyed, and Devastators appeared. Sora ran to one and cast Reflera around himself to block its electric attacks, and used the mini explosions to retaliate before Goofy slid in to attack it on his shield like it was a sleigh.

Vanitas fired his shotgun a couple of times at the Devastator closest to him while Donald blasted it with Blizzard and Tron threw his disk. The ravenette fired his shotgun one more time before it clicked empty, so he rammed the butt into the Heartless, taking it out. Sora and Goofy finished off their Devastator, and the third one appeared and started shocking Sora and Tron. Vanitas pulled his SIG Sauer back out of its holster and fired at the Devastator, careful not to hit his friends. Donald blasted Blizzard and Goofy spun around to attack with his shield, then Sora did two aerial combos, finishing off the last Devastator and ending the fight.

With the Heartless destroyed, the group ran for the Communications Room. Running down the hallway, Vanitas had another vision of Leon and Stitch reaching the computer room. in the outside world. Leon ran to the computer and started clacking keys while Stitch watched on his shoulders with a worried expression.

" _Warning_ ," the MCP's voice told them. " _User control is terminated indefinitely._ "

"MCP is scary," Stitch commented.

Leon kept typing on the computer, to no avail. The brunette slammed his fists on the keyboard in frustration and exclaimed, "No good!"

"Leon, let me try," Aerith said as she walked up to them.

Leon looked at her in surprise for a second before he nodded his head and handed her the disk with the Eradicator program.

"This is your final warning," the MCP told them as Aerith walked up to the disk port. "Stop at once."

"Bon apetit," Aerith said, sliding the disk into the port. She put her hands to her hips as Leon covered his face in embarrassment. "Don't talk with your mouth full."

" _What... what are you loading?_ " the MCP asked, nervously.

Aerith turned towards them and pumped her fist in victory, and Leon smiled.

"Yay, Aerith!" Stitch cheered, clapping his hands.

The vision ended as they reached the Communications Room and they looked up at the pad in the center and the light leading up to the ceiling.

"Nothing's come in yet," Tron commented.

"Give it time," Vanitas told him, although he thought, ' _How long does it take for the computer to transfer this shit?_ '

Light then appeared at the top of the port, with designs in different colors covering the blackness.

"There!" Tron said with a smile.

"All right!" Sora cheered as Tron climbed onto the pad.

The light travelled down, so Tron grabbed his disk and held it up with both hands. The disk glowed and rose up into the air. The lights over the port shifted, and the disk flew up into the blackness. A few seconds passed of the group staring up before the disk reappeared and slowly floated back down to Tron. He took the disk back in his hands and observed it as the light around him faded a bit.

"What's it like?" Goofy asked.

"This is very strange..." Tron commented.

"That's Merlin's magic!" Donald told him.

"Huh?" Tron asked as the light faded. He looked over his shoulder at them. "There's a power booster for me!" He reattached the disk to his back. "And flight routines for the solar sailer!"

"Meaning... we're set?" Sora asked.

Tron climbed down from the pad and looked at the boys. "Well, like you Users say... we won't know until we give it a try!"

"Yeah, we do say that a lot," Vanitas agreed with a slight smile.

"We'll need a sailer to reach the MCP, so let's get to the simulation hanger!" Tron informed them.

They ran out of the Communications Room and across the hall into the Simulation Hanger, where they powered up a solar sailer. Tron powered it up and started piloting it down the line, out of the Tower and towards the MCP.

After a little while of flying, the boys looked over the railings to keep an eye out for enemies.

"You've got to keep a lookout," Tron told them. "The MCP isn't going to just let us waltz in."

Sora smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Then he was surprised when a Devastator floated over the side of the ship and landed. Another Devastator appeared, along with a Magnum Loader, and the group stood back and got in their battle stances.

Vanitas fired a grenade launcher at one Devastator while Sora ignited Master Form, making Oathkeeper appear in his opposite hand, and Donald and Goofy to disappear. Vanitas discarded his grenade launcher as Tron threw his disk and Sora did the various awesome combo attacks against the Heartless. The Devastators and Magnum Loader were soon destroyed, and were replaced by Strafers.

They fought against the Strafers, with Vanitas using his machete, and every time they destroyed a Strafer, a Magnum Loader appeared. Sora kept up the combo attacks with many slashes while Vanitas slashed with his machete and Tron threw his disk. Once they took out the Magnum Loaders, three Devastators appeared just as Master Form ended for Sora. Donald and Goofy reappeared, so Donald started blasting Blizzard and Thunder and Goofy threw his shield. Vanitas grabbed one Devastator and elbowed it, stabbed it with his machete, then he tossed it over the edge of the sailer.

Sora kept up his aerial combos against the Devastators while Tron helped by throwing or slashing with his disk. Vanitas fired his SIG Sauer a couple of more times before it clicked empty to help, before slashing with his machete. Pretty soon, the Devastators were destroyed, and the fight was over.

Just a little while later, the solar sailer docked at a place in front of a gigantic grey structure. They climbed off of the sailer and onto the land in front of the structure, where a terminal was next to them.

"The MCP is straight ahead," Tron informed them.

"Time to settle things for good," Sora announced.

"One sec," Vanitas announced, holding his sling in his hand and re-organizing some of the guns in his sling by replacing the empty ones with fresh ones from the satchel inside, same with the clips and magazines. *** _4_ ***

One he finished, he nodded his head in affirmation with Donald and Goofy that they were ready. The group ran across the bridge into the grey structure, where they found themselves in a large, circular chamber. The ground they were on served as an arc around a large hole in the chamber, which was where a large, orange, spinning structure was in the air. They could briefly see a face every time the top port spun near them.

However, their attentions were drawn to the part of the ground on the other side of them, where they found Commander Sark staring at them, a kind of plain expression on his face.

"Who was that?" Sora asked Tron.

"Sark," Tron reminded Sora. "The MCP's number two."

"This is really the last battle of the game where we hear Sinister Shadows?" Vanitas asked, eyebrows furrowed in .

"Tenacious little bugs!" Sark snapped at them. "Your time is up. Prepare for de-resolution!"

The group stood in their battle stances as Strafers appeared next to Sark. Sora cast Magnera to pick up the Strafers, which gave them better targets. Tron threw his disk, Vanitas fired a Winchester 1887 shotgun one handed, Donald blasted Thunder, Goofy threw his shield, and Sora deflected Sark's disk back at him. Once they destroyed the Strafers, they moved onto Sark. Sora charged in and did combo attacks, using his new finisher, Explosion.

At one point, Sark surrounded himself with energy to teleport away, but they caught up with him easily. He then threw his disk again, but Sora once again knocked it back against him. Sora charged forwards and kept up his combo attacks, Tron threw his disk, Vanitas hit him with his baseball bat, Donald blasted Blizzard, and Goofy slid around on his shield like it was a sleigh in an attack. After a little while, Sark tried throwing his disk once more, and Vanitas knocked it back at him with his bat, hitting him and ending the fight.

"What do you think?" Vanitas asked. "Was that a home run?"

Sark fell onto one knee, and tried pushing to himself to his feet as he said, "You're very persistent, Tron."

"I'm also better than you," Tron said with a smile.

"We... would have made a great team..." Sark weakly said, gesturing to Tron.

Tron lifted his own disk, which was glowing with blue light once more, and tossed it at Sark. The disk hit him in the head and released energy. Sark fell to the ground and electricity charged around him before it faded. Tron looked from the fallen enemy up to the orange spinning face.

"Now for the MCP!" he announced.

"This thing is the MCP?" Sora asked.

"That's it," Tron confirmed. "Ugly, isn't it?"

Wanting to keep the Arnold Schwarzenegger references going after Skynet from earlier, Vanitas commented, "You are one ugly motherfucker."

"I've got an idea," he then announced, half serious. "Let's download a crap ton of internet porn. That always makes a computer program crash!" *** _5_ ***

"Tron..." the MCP called out. "Don't you understand? We don't need Users. We're advanced; they're superfluous. Be a part of me, and together the world will be ours to control!"

"MCP," Tron responded. "You still don't get it, do you?"

The face soon stopped spinning, and the MCP's eyes opened as it looked at them.

"Sark..." the MCP said. "Sark!" Energy then flew into the still downed Sark. "All my functions are now yours!"

As the energy stopped surging around Sark, he slowly pushed himself to his feet, growing in size in front of them. The group watched in surprise as Sark grew about 20 feet into the air and faced them. They stood in their battle stances as Sark stood in a fighting stance. Rectangular barriers then appeared around the edges next to them, keeping them from reaching the MCP.

"Why do villains always think growing in size will give them an advantage?" Vanitas quipped.

Vanitas replaced his baseball bat with his sledgehammer and swung it at Sark's ankles while Sora attacked them with combo attacks. Sark then threw his larger disk over the area, knocking back Goofy and Tron. After some attacks, they managed to do enough damage to Sark's ankles to make him fall to his knees. Vanitas fired the shotgun at the head while Sora did aerial attacks, Tron threw his disk, Donald blasted Thunder, and Goofy threw his shield. They managed to do enough damage to Sark back into a stun, with him literally floating in the air as if he was knocked back. All while the MCP taunted them by saying, "Is that the best a User can do?"

Sora then started directing his attacks towards one of the barriers. Since it took a while, Vanitas pushed him out of the way and attached a C4 explosive to the wall and they scattered as it exploded. Sora and Tron then got together in front of the hole between the barriers and raised Tron's disk. Sora pointed his Keyblade at it, and together they released a beam that shot into the MCP, making it exclaim in pain as the beam kept firing into it. They kept the beam going for a little while before the barriers rose up, and Vanitas pulled them out of the way as they came back down, firing lasers out of them. The hole leftover from the one they destroyed was now on the opposite side of the area, pretty far from them.

"I will repair you," the MCP announced before red light appeared around Sark.

The grown Commander then floated back down onto his feet, and Vanitas fired his shotgun one handed at one of the ankles again. Sark then slammed his hands into the ground and sent out lots of electric energy, knocking them all back. Sora threw up a Mega Potion to heal them all before he kept up his attacks against the ankles. Sark fell onto his knees again, and Vanitas fired his shotgun a few more times before swinging his sledgehammer pretty hard into the Commander's head. Goofy kept throwing his shield, Donald jumped up and whacked with his staff, Tron threw his disk, and Sora did aerial combos until Sark was once again thrown back.

Sora and Vanitas destroyed another barrier, Sora with his Keyblade and Vanitas helped with his shotgun. The brunette and Tron then got together again and set out the light beam from Tron's disk, damaging the MCP. The barriers rose up again, and they all had to dodge as they came down and fired out lasers. The MCP healed Sark again while the barriers spun around again. Sora found one of the holes in the barriers and started firing the beam out with Tron again, while the others took on Sark. The enhanced Commander then threw his disk along the ground, which knocked back Sora and Tron and stopped their attack.

Vanitas fired his shotgun at Sark's head just as a wall came up next to Sora. He leaped up the wall and then lunged at Sark, jabbing with his Keyblade at the head and knocking back the Commander. Sora broke down another barrier and fired out the laser with Tron for a little while before the barriers rose up again and they dodged the lasers. The MCP healed Sark again, and Donald and Goofy started attacking the ankles with their weapons again.

Vanitas then fired his shotgun at the nearest barrier, which shattered it.

"Fire the beam," he told Sora and Tron. "We got Sark!"

"You sure?" Sora asked.

Vanitas put his weapons back into his sling and made fireballs appear in his hands.

"Of course I'm not," he told them. "Now do it!"

Sora and Tron ran to the hole while dodging lasers from the barriers, while Vanitas threw the fireballs at Sark's head.

"Boys..." Vanitas said, getting Donald and Goofy's attentions. "Time to do some awesome shit."

Vanitas ran to the nearest wall and used it to help parkour himself up to Sark's head. He rammed his fist into the side of Sark's face, and the Commander exclaimed in pain. Donald then rose up with flares appearing around him, and he released them all, some of them flying into Sark's ankles and some into his head, doing all kinds of damage. Once Sark was on his knees, Goofy threw his shield at Sark's head, where it deflected off and it a wall before Vanitas caught it and threw it at the same spot on the wall. The shield deflected off the wall and hit Sark in the head before flying back into Goofy's hand. *** _6_ ***

Sark once more was thrown back, and Sora and Tron burst through the barrier, sending out the beam into the MCP. After a little while, they dodged it as the barriers came back down and shot lasers again. The MCP healed Sark again, and the enlarged Commander faced them once more. Sora and Tron kept along the line of dodging lasers while the other three faced off against Sark.

"Can you both shut up!?" Vanitas complained as the MCP kept making its taunts.

Vanitas grabbed one of Sark's enlarged hands and pulled down, judo flipping the Commander onto his back. Vanitas looked at his hands in surprise.

"How strong am I again?" he asked in amazement.

Goofy and Donald started ramming their weapons in Sarks head as he placed his hands down to start bracing himself up. Vanitas kicked him in the head, then when he got in a sitting position, Vanitas parkour-ed up to the head and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him down again. He rammed his fist multiple times into Sark's head while Donald shot out more flares, and Goofy charged with his shield. They knocked Sark back once again, stunning him one more time. At the same time, Sora and Tron broke the barrier again and sent out laser until they defeated the MCP, ending the fight and upgrading Sora's Reflera to Reflega.

The MCP stared at them with a surprised expression while shaking. Light then flared, and when it faded, it was blue. The system then got thinner and thinner before it disappeared. Sark looked up with a bruise on top of his head and a somber expression before light shot out of the bruise, and he then disappeared from sight.

"We did it!" Tron cheered, jumping up and pumping his fist.

He gestured his fist down before standing straight up.

"I see Tron has a silly side, too," Sora laughed as Tron turned towards them.

Tron briefly dropped the smile and tried to keep a serious face, but smiled again, nonetheless.

"I learned it from you," he admitted. "Of course, I do have my silly limits.

"Okay, then I'll tweak your program when I get back to the User world," Sora said.

"You barely even know how to use that computer," Vanitas pointed out. "If you did that, you'd probably just do something bat shit crazy to him."

"Yeah, maybe we better not try that," Tron agreed.

"Aw, come on, guys," Sora said to Donald and Goofy. "Singing Tron? Dancing Tron?"

"Yeah!" Donald agreed.

"Neither of those are happening," Vanitas announced. "I'd rather singing and dancing Stitch than singing and dancing Tron... But something tells me you're gonna try to do it, anyways..."

"Okay, okay, fine," Tron said. "But before I crash... Sora, V, Donald, Goofy, and all the Users out there... Thank you. You really helped me. You made me so much stronger. You taught me what friendship is truly all about. And I'll never forget it. As soon as I met you, I knew we were going to to defeat the MCP and free the system."

Tron held out his hand to them, and Sora took it. He thought it was gonna be a handshake, but was then surprised when Tron pulled him into a hug, instead.

"Isn't this what Users do when they're sorry to say good-bye?" Tron asked, stepping out of the hug.

"Uhh... it's a first for me," Sora admitted.

"Gawrsh, Tron, it's like a promise that we'll see each other again real soon," Goofy said.

"Okay," Tron said. "Well, then..."

He walked over the remaining three, Goofy, Donald, and Vanitas, and gave each of them a hug. He then stepped back and looked at the four.

"I promise," Tron said as the two groups nodded at each other.

He then started stepping back.

"Where are you going?" Sora asked.

Tron waved, then turned and ran to the edge. He leaped over it and dived down to the light. The group exclaimed in fright.

"What the fuck!" Vanitas exclaimed.

They ran to the edge and looked down it as Tron disappeared in the white light.

"Tron..." Sora said in worry.

The entire room then shook, making them look around in confusion. After a few more seconds of shaking, light then flared, making them all go blind.

* * *

Back in the computer room in Hollow Bastion, Aerith watched the computer with Stitch standing next to the keyboard, staring at the computer. They both turned towards the hallway out as Yuffie ran in and up to them.

"Things are settling down in town!" Yuffie told them. "The only Heartless anywhere are the local variety. And it looks like there are fewer than before."

"Yes!" Stitch cheered, pumping a fist. "Less enemies!"

"Now if we can just get those four back in one piece..." Aerith said in worry.

Their attentions were drawn to the device as light flared out, making the Gummi quartet re-materialize back into existence.

"You're here!" Aerith cheered.

"Welcome back!" Yuffie cheered.

Vanitas smiled somberly and walked up to Yuffie.

"Great to see you," he said before they kissed, pretty passionately. They pulled away and smiled at each other. Vanitas then pointed at Yuffie and said, "Good night."

To Yuffie, Stitch, and Aerith's surprise, Vanitas fell to the left and passed out as he hit the ground.

"That's... been happening a lot lately," Sora informed them. He looked at the two. "How's the town?"

Yuffie looked down at Vanitas in confusion, but told the others, "A-okay!"

She then kneeled down and placed her hands on Vanitas's face to try to help him wake up.

"Not a single trace of the MCP, either," Aerith added. "Everything's back to normal. We made it."

"Hey, why the long face?" Yuffie asked, looking up to see that the boys had somber expressions. She pointed at them. "What happened?"

"Tron just disappeared," Donald said.

"And he promised we'd see him again..." Sora said, looking down.

The alarm then suddenly went off again, to their surprise.

"What's happening!?" Aerith asked.

The alarm stopped, and Tron's voice came from the computer. " _Greetings, friends. System is up, and ready for User input._ "

"Tron!" Sora, Donald, then Goofy exclaimed in excitement.

" _Stay in touch,_ " Tron told them.

"Yeah!" Sora agreed as Donald ran up to the keyboard.

"Oh boy, oh boy!" Donald exclaimed, jumping up and pressing some of the keys.

" _Hey, stop that!_ " Tron said while laughing. " _It tickles!_ "

Donald stepped down, and Sora and Goofy looked at each other in thought.

"Tron is ticklish?" Goofy asked.

The two smiled widely and walked over to the system.

"How 'bout this!" Sora exclaimed, hitting keys at random.

" _Please stop that!_ " Tron begged while laughing.

The three kept laughing as Sora kept pressing keys, and Aerith and Stitch laughed with them.

"I think Tron's been hanging around those guys too much," Yuffie commented with a smile, pointing at the trio.

Vanitas coughed awake, smiling slightly at the sight.

"Idiots..." he muttered.

"You know what they're doing?" Yuffie asked.

"No, but when they're laughing like this, I know they're being idiots," he said, as he pushed himself to his feet, still smiling.

" _W-wait, wait just a moment,_ " Tron said. " _I wanna show you something I dug up from the system archives. You can see the town back when it was first built._ "

"Wait," Vanitas said as they all walked up to the computer, him and Yuffie holding an arm around each other. "You mean...?"

Light glowed from the screen, blinding them for a bit.

Elsewhere in the back path out of the castle to the Bailey, Cloud looked up as two beams of light grew into the air, nice and bright. He stared at it as Leon walked up next to him and stared at them.

"That's right..." Leon said in remembrance. "I remember now."

Little light shards started falling down through the air, showing a feeling of nostalgia. Back in the Borough, Cid and Merlin stepped out of the latter's house and looked up at the little shards falling down around them. Cid looked around and then held out a hand as one of the shards floated down over his hand and glowed.

"Just like the old days..." Cid said in nostalgia.

"Hmm..." Merlin said, stroking his beard. "I'd be fascinated to ascertain as to when the town got such a dreadful name as Hollow Bastion!"

They watched as more light beams shot up, releasing more shards to fall through the air.

The Gummi quartet left the castle with Yuffie, Aerith, and Stitch and walked out to the Postern, watching the shards fall down through the air in amazement. Yuffie and Vanitas kept an arm around each other and held out their other hands to try to catch the shards, wide smiles on their faces. Sora and Aerith walked over to one side of the Postern and watched as more light beams shot up.

"You know, this town had another name once," Aerith told Sora.

"Hm?" Sora asked.

Aerith looked up with a smile and told them, "Radiant Garden."

Everyone smiled as they looked up in the air at the still falling light shards. They had won today, and gotten the best reward: they once again remembered the town's true name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Cloud is gonna have a greater role in later stories, so I felt like adding another little tidbit involving him
> 
> *2 I keep imagining Cid with a deeper scratchy voice when I read him on screen, even though I just heard the guy speak two minutes ago
> 
> *3 This was also from a YouTube comment, and i really wanted to add it, as well
> 
> *4 I realized that I haven't had Vanitas doing the whole "organizing his guns" thing in a while. Plus, for a little while I forgot the bigger on the inside satchel was actually a thing, so it was a little reminder for myself, as well
> 
> *5 Thank you for that joke, James Reiner
> 
> *6 Like I mentioned before in one of these chapters (I don't remember when), the way the game works can make all the focus fall on the character you play as (In this case, Sora), so it can be hard to show much about the other characters. I added this to show that Donald and Goofy can still be badasses, even though in the Timeline episodes its on Critical mode, so they get knocked out every twelve seconds


	29. 100 Acre Wood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Radiant Garden back to normal, Sora and Vanitas decide to restore the book back to normal...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to do it

The group then made their way back to Merlin's house, where they rested for a bit before they had to move on. Luckily this time, the next place they had to go to was in that very room. They had already found the Torn Pages in other worlds, and went over to the book.

"Same system from last time," Vanitas told them, handing Goofy the book. "You add the pages when we give you instructions from the earpiece. Keep it on at all times, and press the button to talk to us. But keep the volume down. I'd rather not lose my hearing when a random surge of being able to feel things happens."

"Don't worry, I won't be too loud," Goofy assured them.

"You're not the one we're worried about being too loud," Sora told him, looking down at Donald.

"Hey!" Donald snapped, gripping his hands into fists.

"I still can't believe there's a whole damn world in that book," Yuffie commented.

"Well, there's one in the computer, why not one in a book?" Vanitas asked with a smile.

Goofy then opened the book and pointed it at Sora and Vanitas. Like before, light gathered and absorbed them before fading altogether. Stitch stuttered in worry as he looked from Yuffie, then Goofy, then the book.

"They'll be okay," Yuffie assured him. She looked at Goofy. "Right?"

"Right," Donald assured them. "We've done this before. They always come back okay."

* * *

Sora and Vanitas landed in the middle of the front pages, looking around at the still empty papers around them.

"All right," Vanitas said into the earpiece. "Go on."

They could tell that Donald and Goofy added the page, because light floated down and flared brightly, adding a pop up of a tree made into a house.

The two walked up to the page, and appeared on a path that led up to a field with the tree made into a house. Wind then blew strongly, and a honey pot hit Sora in the back of the head.

"Ow!" he exclaimed.

"That looked painful," Vanitas commented. He then held up his fist as another pot flew towards him, which shattered against the closed hand.

"Wonder if Pooh's here..." Sora said after rubbing the back of his head to alleviate the pain.

The wind blew harder once more, and to their surprise, Piglet flew with the wind out above the field.

"Oh, help, help!" he called out. "Somebody save me!"

"Piglet!" Sora called out.

"What the hell?" Vanitas asked. "Is he really that skinny?"

Luckily, the winds blew Piglet towards the tree, and the little guy managed to catch one of the branches to keep him structured down.

"Sora! Vanitas!" Piglet called out. "Help! Please!"

"Hold on, little guy!" Sora called out.

They ran across the field towards the tree and managed to help Piglet down to the ground. Pretty soon, they met up with Pooh, Owl, and Gopher. Piglet was distraught to learn that Pooh had forgotten about him, but he didn't have long to wail about it because pretty soon, he had once again been picked up by the winds and thrown through the air. Sora and Vanitas chased Piglet around through the air for a good little, while before the porker found himself on one of the branches of his literal tree house once more. Sora, Vanitas, and Pooh looked up at him in worry as he looked back down at them.

"Jump down, Piglet!" Sora called out. "I'll catch you!"

"You'll be all right," Vanitas assured him. "We promise!"

"Oh, d-d-dear..." Piglet stammered out.

"You can do it, Piglet!" Sora called out. "You just have to be brave!"

Vanitas bit his lip, remembering the last few episodes of series 9 of Doctor Who once more and doing his best not to cry as he remembered Clara's words. He shook it off and looked up at Piglet with them.

"Sora... V..." Piglet said, looking down at them again. "All right, guys. I'll t-try..."

Piglet raised off of the side of the branch and covered his eyes with his hands. He jumped off of the branch, and missed Sora and Vanitas entirely, and Pooh caught him instead as they fell to the ground.

"Oh, that was rather frightening," Pooh said. "I do hope you're all right, Piglet."

"Oh, P-Pooh!" Piglet said in slight amazement. "You remembered my name? You really, truly remembered?"

"Of course, Piglet," Pooh assured him. "But today I think I shall call you 'my friend Piglet who is very brave'!"

Sora and Vanitas leaned down slightly with their hands on their knees to get a better look at the interaction.

"Me?" Piglet asked. "Very brave? No... But it's easy to be brave when I have a wonderful friend like you, Pooh Bear!"

"We're happy for you guys!" Sora told them as they stood up and faced them.

"Oh, and thank you for rescuing my friend, Piglet..." Pooh started. "Somebodies-I-Don't-Know."

"Oh..." Sora said in slight disappointment. "Uh, sure. Don't mention it."

"That's gonna get old fast," Vanitas muttered.

They left the area around Piglet's house, and they re-entered the top of the pages. Light flared over Piglet's house, and when it faded, the pop up card... popped up.

"I guess that's to signify we finished the problem there?" Vanitas guessed.

They instructed Donald and Goofy to add the next page, and light flared, making a familiar tree with a familiar garden patch appear. The two friends walked to the card and found themselves walking into Rabbit's garden, right in front of his house.

Their attentions were drawn to up in the air. Pooh floated down on a balloon, falling closer and closer to Eeyore. Or more specifically, Eeyore's house.

"Oh, d-d-d-dear!" Piglet exclaimed at the sight next to the boys.

"C'mon!" Sora instructed.

They ran down the patch towards Eeyore and Pooh... just in time for Pooh to land on and shatter Eeyore's stick house. The balloon floated up into the air.

"Eeyore, Pooh," Sora said as they reached the two. "Are you okay?"

"Why does this happen to you so much?" Vanitas asked Eeyore, eyebrows furrowed in thought, while Pooh sat on the ground and put a hand to his head in his own thought.

"Gosh, that's too bad, Eeyore," Sora said, leaning down slightly. "After all that work..."

"No matter," Eeyore assured them in his usual bland tone. "Most likely would have fallen down, anyway."

"Well, I'll help you fix your house, Eeyore," Piglet assured him.

"Oh, hello there, Piglet," Eeyore greeted. "Thanks for offerin'. Wouldn't want to spoil your fun day, though."

Pooh then stood up, garnering Piglet and Eeyore's attentions.

"Well, hello, Piglet," Pooh greeted before looking at Eeyore. "And hello, Somebody-I-Don't-Know."

"Pooh, this is Eeyore," Sora said. "You know Eeyore, don't you?"

"He's someone who's pretty hard to forget," Vanitas said.

"Um, I do?" Pooh asked.

He put a hand to his head in thought while Sora and Vanitas looked at Piglet.

"This is really starting to get old," Vanitas commented.

"What could've happened to him?" Sora asked.

Pooh's stomach then growled quite loudly, garnering their attentions.

"Oh, I have an idea!" Piglet announced. "Maybe Pooh's tummy is so rumbly that it's making him forget. If we bring him some honey, he's sure to remember!"

"Knowing him, that actually might work..." Vanitas said, cocking his head to the side in thought.

"Well... um... I guess it's worth a try," Sora agreed.

"Might work," Eeyore said. "But prob'ly not."

"First we gotta find some honey," Sora said.

"Given this is Rabbit's house, there's probably some nearby," Vanitas pointed out.

"He's right," Eeyore agreed. "If honey's what you're looking for, I know just the place. Follow me."

They followed the donkey like creature around Rabbit's house, where they found lots of honey pots stacked together next to the rabbit hole.

"This is the place I told you about," Eeyore told them.

"Wow!" Sora said, surprised. "Look at that."

"How yummy for my tummy!" Pooh said, quickly walking up to the pots.

He sat down in front of the pots and reached for one, and Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"But doesn't that honey belong to someone?" Piglet asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I just said..." Vanitas started to say, but Pooh had already reached into one pot and stuffed some honey in his mouth. "Never mind. Too late."

Pooh kept stuffing his face until all the pots were empty, and that's when Rabbit came back and exclaimed distraught. His demeanor changed when he saw that Pooh didn't remember anything, and he came to the conclusion that a full stomach would be able to help the bear like creature. So, Vanitas and Sora helped him gather even more honey, storing them in pots that they stacked against the fence.

"There now, Pooh," Rabbit said, gesturing to the pots. "Have just as much as you'd like."

"Why, thank you!" Pooh said, sitting in front of the pots.

He then proceeded to stuff his face with honey. After a little while, all the pots were empty, and Pooh Bear stood up and faced them.

"Pardon me, Kind Somebody," he said, to their disappointments. "But do you know where I might find another smackeral or two of honey?"

Sora, Vanitas, Rabbit, and Piglet all simultaneously looked down and sighed in disappointment. Pooh looked around in consideration before he saw the rabbit hole. He walked over and looked at it while Rabbit crossed his arms in thought.

"My tummy seems to be telling me there's some hunny right in there," Pooh said.

Pooh started climbing in the rabbit hole, and Sora, Vanitas, and Piglet jumped in surprise. Like last time, the bear's bottom half got him stuck.

"Bother," Pooh's slightly muffled voice called out. "I'm stuck."

"He never does learn, does he?" Vanitas asked.

Rabbit sighed out, "He still doesn't remember. What in the world has gotten into Pooh Bear?"

"Whatever it is, we'd better help him," Sora said.

"Uh, we'd better help him now," Vanitas pointed out, literally pointing at the stuck bear.

"Oh, yes," Piglet agreed. "And quickly, too!"

"Oh, stuff and fluff," Pooh said, muffled once more.

They walked up to Pooh in a line, Sora grabbing his legs, Vanitas grabbing Sora's shoulders, Rabbit grabbing one of Vanitas's straps, Eeyore biting Rabbit's tail, and Piglet grabbing Eeyore's tail.

"One..." Sora said as they started pulling. "Two... Three!"

He pulled even harder at the last one, successfully pulling Pooh out and throwing him to through the air as they fell to the ground. Pooh was thrown through the air and fell onto his bottom in a sitting position. He stood up and put a hand to his head in thought, while the others ran up to him.

"You're okay now, Pooh," Sora said.

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you," Rabbit re-butted. "Why, just, just look at him! He doesn't even remember who I am. *gasps in thought* Perhaps it's all this blustery wind, or... Or maybe he actually needs more honey! Or, he's... he's sleepwalking and, and dreaming!"

Pooh walked up to Rabbit.

"Well, if I am dreaming, which I suppose I could be..." Pooh started to say. "I hope that I get to the part where you invite me to lunch again very soon, Rabbit."

"That's right, you're always stopping by for lunch!" Rabbit commented in annoyance. He gasped in realization. "Wait! Pooh! You called me 'Rabbit'!"

"Well, of course, Rabit," Pooh said.

"What about Eeyore?" Piglet asked. "Do you remember Eeyore, too, Pooh?"

Pooh looked at said donkey like creature.

"Oh, hello there, Eeyore," Pooh greeted. "It's ever so nice to see you today."

"Thanks for noticing me, Pooh Bear," Eeyore said in his same bland tone.

Sora leaned down with an eager smile and pointed at his own face.

"And hello to you, too, Somebody-I-Don't-Know!" Pooh greeted.

Sora and Vanitas sighed out in defeat at that.

"Well, at least you remember Rabbit and Eeyore now," Sora rationalized.

"It's the little victories that matter," Vanitas said with a slight smile.

They left the area around Rabbit's house, and they re-entered the top of the pages. Light flared over Rabbit's house, and when it faded, the pop up card popped up.

They then instructed Donald and Goofy to add the next page, and light flared, making another tree based house with two mailboxes in front of it appear. The two walked over the pop up card and found themselves walking down a path towards another house. They walked up to Pooh and Piglet.

"Hi!" Sora greeted.

"How you guys doing?" Vanitas asked.

"Well, hello, Sora and V!" Piglet greeted.

"Yes, hello there Somebodies-I-Don't-Know," Pooh greeted.

A taller kangaroo then hopped over to them with Roo in her pouch. They had a feeling that this was Roo's mother, Kanga, that he had mentioned the last time they were on this world. She was holding a bottle of medicine in her right hand.

"Not often a mother is friends with her kid's friends," Vanitas muttered with a slight smile.

"Eeyore told me Pooh wasn't quite himself," Kanga said. "I thought this might be just what the poor dear needed."

"Yeah, I hope it'll make Pooh better!" Roo said.

Their attentions were then drawn to the right, as Tigger hopped towards them, singing to himself. He cheered as he stopped next to Kanga, who was still holding out the bottle of medicine.

"A present!" Tigger exclaimed. "For me? Why, presents are what Tiggers like best! And it's not even my birthday!"

He laughed, took the bottle, and started bouncing away, once again singing to himself.

"But Tigger!" Kanga called out. "That's not for you!"

Roo climbed out of his mother's pouch.

"Wait, Tigger!" Roo called out as he started hopping after his friend.

"Oh, dear!" Piglet commented.

"C'mon, let's go after him," Sora said.

They followed Tigger across the yard, and explained to him the situation of Pooh's amnesia, and their theory the medicine would help. He shut that theory down and said that bouncing would be sure to help. Vanitas tried countering that Tigger wasn't a doctor, but they went with it, anyway. They went with Tigger to a large strap in the air he had serving as a trampoline and they started jumping on it. Sora with Pooh on his back, Vanitas, Tigger and Roo jumped lots of times, going higher and higher every time. After a little while, they climbed down and met back up with the others near Kanga's house.

"I bet you remember me now, don't you, buddy-bear!" Tigger said to Pooh.

"Well, I remember that bouncing always makes me hungry," Pooh admitted.

Tigger's jaw dropped in surprise, then he looked down in sadness.

"All that bouncin' and he still doesn't remember me?" Tigger asked in despair. During his next words, he turned away. "Well then, I guess bouncin's not the answer. It makes a Tigger almost never wanna bounce again..."

"Uh, like I said, you're not a doctor," Vanitas pointed out. "So, it probably wouldn't have worked, anyway."

Tigger looked at the medicine bottle that was somehow still in his right hand, then tossed it aside.

"Oh, please be careful with that," Piglet begged as the bottle bumped on the ground in front of them.

"Aw, sorry, little Piglet..." Tigger said. "But Pooh not rememberin' me has me all confuzled. I don't even feel like bouncin'!"

"Oh, but Tigger," Pooh said. "I always thought bouncing was what Tiggers did best."

Tigger perked up and turned back around to face Pooh.

"Pooh Boy!" Tigger exclaimed. "You remember me! You do remember your ol' buddy Tigger after all!"

Tigger then laughed before he started hopping around, cheering to himself along the way.

"Well, that was... interesting," Vanitas commented.

They left the area around Kanga's house, and Vanitas had a slight vision, showing him Pooh falling asleep and having a dream of the last time they had seen him during their first journey. The animals were all on top of the hill with the swing, and the two lookalikes had crossed the bridge. Pooh wondered who Sora and Vanitas were as the two walked away, and he rationalized that he'd probably remember tomorrow.

"Time works even weirder in here," Vanitas commented.

Light then flared over Kanga's house, and once it was gone, the pop up card popped up.

They then instructed Donald and Goofy to add the next page, and looked around waiting for it to appear. Light then flared on one of the sides of the pages, and then a pop up card of a cave with the appearance of a lion head appeared.

They walked over to the pop up card and found themselves in the entrance of the cave, where they found all of their friends on this world minus Pooh. They explained that Pooh had gone into the cave alone, and had been in there for a while. They admitted that they were scared about what was in the cave, but gathered up their courage to go with Sora and Vanitas. They went through the cave altogether and found themselves in a circular chamber with diamond walls around them. Pooh sat on a rock in the center with his hand on his head in thought.

"Pooh!" Sora greeted, leaning down to see the bear better. "There you are!"

"You all right, man?" Vanitas asked.

Everyone else surrounded the bear as he kept staring down.

"Hey... we looked everywhere for you," Sora said.

"I was looking for two very dear friends that I remember I made a very important promise to," Pooh admitted, still looking down.

"So, did you find them?" Sora asked.

"No," Pooh said with a somber expression. "I looked and looked. But the two of them don't seem to be anywhere."

Before anyone could say anything else, Tigger tackled Pooh to the ground in relief.

"Oh, Pooh Boy!" Tigger exclaimed in relief. "So there you are."

Pooh sat up and put a hand to his slightly bruised head.

"But, Tigger, did you have to bounce me so... bounce-ily?" he asked.

"Gosh, I thought a jagular had gotten ya!" Tigger exclaimed as Sora and Vanitas walked over.

"Oh, dear," Pooh said in worry. "I hadn't thought of that. I do hope a jagular hasn't gone and gobbled up my friends!"

"I think you guys mean jaguar," Vanitas pointed out.

"Now, try to remember, Pooh," Kanga suggested. "Aren't Sora and Vanitas the ones you're looking for?"

Sora looked at her in surprise, but figured that that was a good suggestion.

"Sounds like a viable solution," Vanitas said.

The sound of a slight growling got their attentions, scaring Pooh.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "The jagular!"

"No, it's just your tummy grumbling," Sora said as he and Vanitas kneeled down to look at the bear better. "You must be hungry. C'mon... Let's head home and see if we can find you some honey."

"When's the last time you ate, buddy?" Vanitas asked in consideration. "You're gonna need some food."

"I'd like that, Sora and V," Pooh said.

"Pooh!" Sora exclaimed in delight. "You... you finally remembered!"

"Hot damn!" Vanitas exclaimed in delight, clapping his hands together once.

"Remembered what, Sora?" Pooh asked.

"Pooh..." Sora said with a smile.

"Man, took his memory long enough," Vanitas muttered with a smile.

"Sora, V, I like it ever so much when you're cheerful," Pooh said.

"Me, too, Pooh," Sora said as they stood up.

"Same here," Vanitas agreed.

"Oh... There's a bit of a rumbly in my tumbly," Pooh said.

"All right," Sora agreed. "Then let's go home!"

Sora offered a hand and Pooh took it as they led the way out of the cave, with everyone else following behind. They left the cave entirely, and Sora and Vanitas soon found themselves back on the two pages. Light flared over the cave, and once it faded, the pop up card popped up.

They then instructed Donald and Goofy to add the next page, and looked around waiting for it to appear. Light then flared on one of the sides of the pages, and then a pop up card of the hill with the tree appeared, complete with a night time full moon.

The two friends walked over to the pop up card and found themselves at the hill, with a full moon out in the air. They found Pooh on top, with a honey pot over his head. He explained that he was eating the honey, but then got his head stuck. After heavy consideration, Vanitas decided against breaking it with both his baseball bat and his staff, so they started tugging. Vanitas held Pooh and Sora held on hard to the pot. After a little bit, he pulled hard enough and sent the pot flying across the area below them.

"I don't even question how this shit happens anymore," Vanitas admitted as they all sat on the log.

"So, what were you doing here?" Sora asked Pooh.

"I was thinking: Perhaps there's a way to make it so you both won't go away," Pooh told them.

"You mean a way to make us stay?" Sora asked.

"Yes," Pooh confirmed. "Would there be such a thing as a way to make it so you don't go away again?"

"Pooh..." Sora said, looking up at the moon then back at the bear. "Don't worry. I promise we'll come back and visit you now and then."

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas agreed. "You're someone we'd like to see again and again after a while."

"Could you make it 'now and now' instead?" Pooh asked. "That seems a bit better to me. Sora, V, if I go looking for you, will I find you?"

"I'll always be with you," Sora assured him, pointing at Pooh's chest where his heart was. "Right here."

"You don't have to go anywhere," Vanitas added.

"Just stay here, and you can see us anytime you want," Sora assured him.

"You mean I just have to stay right here?" Pooh asked.

"Yep, that's all," Sora said.

"There's no sweat about it," Vanitas added.

"Would you promise?" Pooh asked.

"Promise," Sora said.

"Promise," Vanitas agreed.

"I promise, too!" Piglet said, suddenly appearing between Sora and Pooh.

"How long were you hiding there?" Vanitas quipped with a raised eyebrow.

Everyone else then appeared around or on the log and smiled.

"And so do Roo and I," Kanga told them.

"We sure do!" Roo agreed.

"You're welcome to visit us anytime, boys," Rabbit told the doppelgängers as they looked at him.

"Thanks," Sora said.

"After all, I must tell you about my Uncle Albert's adventures at sea," Owl told them.

"Looking forward to it," Vanitas said with a smile.

"Guess you'll be stayin' awhile," Eeyore commented.

Sora chuckled at that.

"Good-bye, Sora and V," Gopher said with his usual whistle at the "S," waving at them.

"Thanks, Gopher," Sora said.

"If you ever get lonely, just start bouncin' and think of your pal, Tigger!" Tigger suggested.

"You got it, Tigger!" Vanitas assured, pointing at him.

The two boys stood up, much to Pooh's chagrin.

"You're leaving?" he asked.

"Yes," Sora said. "We really have to go."

"Well, I won't be sad," Pooh said. During his ext words, he placed a hand over his heart. "Because you'll always be here forever and ever. Right, Sora? Right, V?"

Sora and Vanitas looked at the animals around them and smiled.

"Of course," Vanitas assured.

"And all of you..." Sora said, placing a hand over his heart. "Are right here, too."

Pooh smiled widely at them.

"See you!" Sora said.

"Peace!" Vanitas said, waving a hand good-bye.

They jumped off the hill and walked down the bridge, turning around and waving good-bye to their animal friends. The two boys left the page and the book world entirely. They gathered with their friends and watched as the cover picture glowed a bright light, changing. The picture now showed Pooh, Sora, and Vanitas sitting in grass and staring up at the night sky, with Vanitas pointing up at the scars.

"Aww..." Yuffie cooed as Vanitas wrapped an arm around her and placed a kiss to the side of her head.

"Nice going, guys," Donald congratulated as Goofy set the book back down on the stand.

"Well, it was nothing," Sora admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

Vanitas laughed, then grabbed the side of his head in pain. He saw the Dark Depths, past the Great Maw. Sephiroth was staring out at Maleficent's old castle, with his sword held backhanded in preparation. Vanitas gasped as the vision ended.

"What'd you see?" Sora asked.

"There's one last thing we have to take care of here," Vanitas announced. He breathed out. "I know where Sephiroth is..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next is, well, you know...


	30. Extra Battles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group ends up having to fight some pretty powerful foes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to get them out of the way. I do kind of think its cool that in the Timeline, they didn't show the Sephiroth battle in I, but kept it in II, to show the growth of Sora as a Keyblader. Plus, having the Lingering Will adds another little tie in from his past

Vanitas led the way back outside town and through the mountains, all the way back to the Dark Depths. They found Sephiroth in the Dark Depths, staring out at Maleficent's old castle, in the exact same place Vanitas had seen him. They walked up to the man, but couldn't even say anything before he spoke up.

"What is Cloud doing?" Sephiroth asked.

"Beats me," Sora admitted.

"He's kind of a mystery," Vanitas pointed out.

"Hmph," Sephiroth hummed. "By the way, you four... Who are you?"

He turned around and pulled out his sword with his opposite hand, pointing it at them. They jumped back, and Sora summoned his Keyblade.

"I'm not sure we should tell ya," Goofy commented.

Sephiroth stared at them in consideration.

"Well..." he said. "That's an interesting sword you're carrying."

"It's the Keyblade!" Donald snapped.

"And you berate _us_ for breaking the order," Vanitas reprimanded Donald.

"Whoops," Donald said, covering his beak with his hands in embarrassment.

"I see..." Sephiroth said. "So that's a Keyblade. And I suppose you must be its chosen wielder."

"So what if I am?" Sora asked.

"I wonder if it won't change its mind... once I defeat you," Sephiroth said, standing in a battle stance. *** _1_ ***

"Oh, I am so helping in this fight," Vanitas said. "The music is too awesome."

He stepped forwards, then exclaimed as he fell to the ground. Donald and Goofy grabbed him by his shoulders and dragged him away as Sora and Sephiroth continued to stand in battle stances.

"What happened to you?" Donald asked.

"I think my legs just shut down," Vanitas said. "Damn, I wanted to join in on this fight."

Sora then held up his Keyblade to block as Sephiroth lunged forwards and slashed with his sword, blocking multiple attacks at once. Sora then rushed forwards and did to combo attacks, ending the second one with Explosion before Sephiroth teleported away across the rock. Sephiroth stepped towards Sora, who blocked as the One Winged Angel started slashing his sword. Sora then did a counter attack to stop Sephiroth's sword, before he rushed in with two more combo attacks, once again ending the second one with Explosion.

Sephiroth teleported across the rock again and started slashing with his sword, which Sora dodged before blocking with his Keyblade. He did two more combo attacks, ending the second one with Explosion, before Sephiroth teleported to the side and tried lunging once more. Once more, Sora blocked it, then did two more combo attacks. Sephiroth then teleported away, and Sora had to dodge as the One Winged Angel then teleported in mid air and slashed with his sword, multiple times. Only one slash hit Sora, but before Sephiroth could do another one, Sora recovered and did an aerial combo attack.

The two of them landed on the ground, and Sora dodged it as Sephiroth then teleported in air and slashed with his sword again. Sephiroth then lunged, and Sora dodged it as Sephiroth slashed at him. Sora then did two combo attacks against him before Sephiroth appeared on the other side of the area, and made little orbs of darkness appear around the brunette, all of which he blocked with Reflega. Sephiroth leaped near him, so Sora did two more combo attacks. Sora then dodged another one of Sephiroth's floating strikes, then the many slashes from his sword, and countered with two more combo attacks.

Sephiroth then floated up into the air covered in red energy, muttering, "Descend... Heartless angel." *** _2_ ***

Sora slid across to Sephiroth and double jumped up, doing an aerial combo attack to stop him from finishing the attack.

"Wait, so it went from 'Sin Harvest' to 'Descend Heartless Angel'?" Vanitas asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "Do they give a damn about continuity?"

Sora and Sephiroth both landed on the ground, and the latter made the dark orbs appear around the former once again. Sora blocked it with Reflega, then Sephiroth charged at him and disappeared across the area. Even more dark orbs appeared around Sora, and he cast Reflega once again, knocking the orbs back, with one of them hitting Sephiroth. Sora used Reflega one last time when orbs appeared around him again, then Sephiroth charged at him once more. He then disappeared and reappeared in the air covered in red energy.

Once more, Sora slid across the area and double jumped up to use an aerial combo attack to stop the attack. They both landed on the ground, then Sora cast Reflega as many dark orbs appeared around him from Sephiroth. Sora then blocked as Sephiroth lunged forwards and slashed with his sword, so then he did two combo attacks. Sephiroth made the dark orbs appear again, then Sora cast Reflega once more to knock them back. Sora then slid in and did two more combo attacks, as per usual, ending the second one with Explosion. Sephiroth teleported to the side and started slashing his sword.

Sora then dodged Sephiroth's sword strikes, before blocking the last one to do a counter attack. But Sephiroth teleported away during the counter then charged at Sora, then teleported away again. He then floated up in the air covered in red energy again, so Sora slid in, double jumped, and did an aerial attack to stop the attack. However, Sephiroth teleported away during the middle of the attack and reappeared on the ground.

Sephiroth muttered something they couldn't hear, and black energy surged into him, outlining him in purple. Sora then cast Reflega as dark orbs surrounded him and then blocked with his Keyblade as Sephiroth lunged forwards and slashed with his sword. With Sephiroth close enough, Sora did two combo attacks to knock him around. Sora then slid across the area as Sephiroth made pillars of fire fly up into the air. He then kept sliding across the area as a form of magnet magic started dragging him towards the pillars.

Once the fires were gone, Sephiroth slid towards him and tried to slash with his sword, but Sora blocked it. Sephiroth then teleported to the side and floated up in the air, covered in red again. Sora slid towards Sephiroth, double jumped up, then did an aerial combo to stop him. They both landed on the ground, then Sephiroth teleported a couple of times before he appeared in the air over the edge.

Sora then slid towards the barrier the others were behind and started double jumping around in front of them as Sephiroth sent meteors towards him.

"Wow, props to the guy they had play this for the Timeline Episode," Vanitas commented. "This far in the battle and only got hit once. _And_ he doesn't even have Glide."

The meteors ended and Sephiroth reappeared near Sora, and the brunette slid across the ground as Sephiroth sent up the pillars of fire once more. Once the fire ended, Sora blocked with his Keyblade as Sephiroth slashed with his sword, then did two more combo attacks. Sephiroth teleported away then made orbs appear around Sora, which he blocked with Reflega. But once Reflega was over, Sephiroth appeared in front of him and slashed with his sword, knocking him up. When Sephiroth then appeared next to him in the air, Sora recovered and started an aerial, knocking Sephiroth around.

The two then landed on the ground, and Sora cast Reflega as Sephiroth had dark orbs surround him. Sephiroth floated up covered in red energy, and Sora double jumped up, doing a long aerial combo and stopping the attack. The two landed on the ground, then Sora used Reflega to block two attacks of dark orbs surrounding him. Sephiroth charged forwards slashing with his sword, but Sora blocked it then used retaliated with a combo attack, ending the fight.

"Nice!" Vanitas exclaimed, pumping a fist.

Donald and Goofy dragged Vanitas across the rock and stood with Sora as they stared at Sephiroth.

"How'd you like that?" Sora snapped.

"I admit you're very skilled..." Sephiroth said, brushing his right shoulder. "But apparently, Cloud is the only one who can eliminate me."

He turned away from them and stared out at Maleficent's old castle again.

"Tell Cloud to come here," Sephiroth told them. "Tell him Sephiroth is looking to settle things."

Still carrying Vanitas, they left the Dark Depths and went back across the mountains, back into town. They entered the marketplace once more and went down the stairs, finding Cloud next to the large thing that looked like a bed.

"Is he okay?" Cloud asked, furrowing his eyebrows at Vanitas.

"I think my legs are dead," Vanitas said, being held up by Sora and Goofy.

"Weird things have been happening with him lately," Sora assured Cloud. "This is odd, but it's kind of normal for us at this point."

Cloud nodded his head with a confused expression, then shook his head as he looked at the four approaching him.

"Have you seen Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.

"He's in the Dark Depths," Sora told him.

"I see..." Cloud said. "So I guess it's time we settled this."

He started walking past them and towards the staircase.

"Cloud..." Sora said in worry.

"He'll be all right..." Vanitas assured him before furrowing his eyebrows. "I think..."

They decided to go to the Dark Depths to show support to their friend. Somehow, they reached the area before Cloud did, and walked up to Sephiroth.

"Did you give him my message?" the One Winged Angel asked.

"Maybe," Sora said, cryptically.

"Sorry to keep you, Sephiroth!" Cloud's voice called from the path out.

They all turned to see the blonde man walking towards them with his Buster Sword that was still covered in pieces of cloth.

"Cloud..." Sephiroth said, walking towards Cloud. "You'll never let go of the darkness..."

"Shut up," Cloud simply said as he stood in the center of the area and held up his sword in preparation.

Sephiroth stood a few feet in front of Cloud and held his sword with both hands, staring at Cloud in his own battle stance.

"You'll never let go of your past..." Sephiroth taunted.

"Shut up!" Cloud snapped, charging forwards.

He slashed at Sephiroth's legs, but he jumped up. Cloud jumped after him, and they slashed their swords at each other, each of their attacks intercepting the other.

"Cloud!" Sora cheered. "Get him!"

"Kick his fucking ass!" Vanitas exclaimed.

Cloud backed away from the slashing and pressed his feet against one of the mountain sides near them. He then launched up as Sephiroth flew after him. The two floated through the air, slashing their swords against each other, before Cloud floated back down onto the rock onto his feet. Cloud then jumped to the side as Sephiroth slammed his sword into the ground, then the blonde ran along one of the mountain sides, leaping towards Sephiroth as the One Winged Angel leaped at him at the same time.

Cloud and Sephiroth slashed their swords against each other, then both landed on opposite sides of the area. They then charged at each other and slammed their swords at each other, standing in place as they stared at each other.

"Absurd," Sephiroth insulted. "Defeating me is meaningless. You know that more than anyone, Cloud. No matter how many times I fall, your darkness keeps calling me back!"

Cloud exclaimed as Sephiroth pushed at him, forcing their blades back a bit.

"Wrong!" Tifa's voice exclaimed from the path out.

"Tifa!" Cloud called to her. "Stay back!"

"How can I?" Tifa asked. "I wanna help you."

Cloud backed away from Sephiroth and held his sword in both hands, while Tifa ran closer to the two.

"You can't," Sephiroth denied. "He'll never let go of the darkness."

"He doesn't have to," Tifa countered. "He just needs someone to surround him with light."

Sephiroth pointed his sword at Tifa, and she jumped back.

"The darkness will be there, Sephiroth, but in a place you can't reach," Tifa told the One Winged Angel.

"Is that right?" he asked. "Let's see what this light of yours can do."

Sephiroth slashed his sword at Tifa, but she dodged it and rushed in to punch him. Sephiroth stepped out of the way and she landed on the opposite side of him. They faced each other, and she raised her fists in preparation.

Cloud covered his face with his hands as he was blinded slightly by light, then called out, "No!"

Tifa charged forwards and tried punching and kicking Sephiroth, but he dodged all the attacks. He then pushed her back with his free hand, then she started dodging slashes from his sword. Cloud started getting slightly woozy, as he kept seeing light.

"Look out!" Sora warned.

Sephiroth charged at Cloud, but he leaped over the man and stood in front of Tifa with his sword raised at Sephiroth.

"Cloud, you can have my light," Tifa told the blonde.

"The light doesn't suit you," Sephiroth countered.

"I just..." Cloud said softly, looking at his sword. "Don't know."

Light then covered him, glowing brightly.

"Stop!" Sephiroth snapped, lunging at Cloud and Tifa.

As he got closer, Cloud pulled back his sword in preparation as more light covered him, glowing brightly. Sephiroth stopped, and Cloud leaped up in the air. Sephiroth rose up in the air with him, and the two faced each other. Light then covered everything, blinding them.

The Gummi quartet covered their eyes, and when they opened them, they were surprised to see that both Cloud and Sephiroth were gone.

"Huh?" Sora asked in surprise.

"The fuck?" Vanitas asked as his legs started working again.

Donald muttered in confusion as Tifa stared out towards the town in the distance.

"Where'd they go?" Goofy asked. "Do you think they made it back to their own world?"

"They went somewhere else..." Sora said. "Cloud went to fight a great battle, to defeat the darkness inside him."

"As long as we believe in him, then he will win," Vanitas added, as Tifa walked up to them.

"Gone again," Tifa commented.

"What will you do now?" Sora asked.

Tifa put a hand to her chin in thought before she admitted, "Guess I'll keep looking."

"Got any leads?" Sora asked.

"Don't worry," Tifa told them. "Light is easy to find."

She walked closer to Sora.

"I gotta go," Tifa told them. She held out her hand. "Here. This is for helping me out."

Tifa placed a keychain for the Keyblade Fenrir in Sora's hand, and he looked down at it.

"But wait, when did we help?" Sora asked.

The boys were confused for a bit, but by the time they looked up again, they saw that Tifa was already walking away.

"I guess she's just glad that we managed to reunite her with her boyfriend," Vanitas chuckled.

He then exclaimed as he held his side, feeling a surge of pain.

"Are you okay?" Goofy asked in worry.

Vanitas breathed in and out, feeling the pain slowly dissipate. Then, keeping his gaze in front of him, he reached into his bag and pulled out a wristwatch he had gotten from Tony. He attached the watch to his wrist and started pressing buttons without even looking. He set it to the timer and pressed a few more buttons. Once he was done, he and the others looked at the watch, seeing that he had set the timer to start at eight hours.

"Eight hours until what?" Donald asked, confused.

"I don't know," Vanitas admitted. "But we better get going fast before we find out too early."

They made their way to the ship and prepared for the next stage of their journey.

* * *

They got an alert on their computer from Disney Castle, so they went back to the world. The group travelled down the steps into the Hall of the Cornerstone, and found Chip and Dale staring at the opposite wall. Once they got close enough, the brothers turned back and looked up at them.

"Oh, Sora!" Chip greeted. "Great timing!"

"It's just terrible!" Dale told them. "Will you look at that!?"

They followed the chipmunks' gazes up to the opposite wall to see a large purple, blue, and black portal in the middle of it. The purple and blue swirled inside, getting closer to the black that led to... somewhere.

"I came to check on the Cornerstone of Light, and that's when I saw it!" Chip explained. "I don't know how long it's been there."

"It looks like it leads somewhere," Dale commented. "But where?"

"Do you think it's connected to the past, like the other one?" Goofy asked.

"Or maybe that's what the Organization wants us to think," Donald countered. "It might be a trap!"

"I don't think so," Vanitas said, mesmerized by the portal in front of him. "I sense something... familiar past that. And not something that was a danger to me."

"Whatever the case, we should be prepared for anything if we're going to check it out," Sora told them.

They entered the portal, and found themselves in a large empty, barren field. Vanitas gasped at the sights around him. Equally barren mountains, along with shards of land sticking out of the ground. Winds blew in the distance spreading the dust all around.

Vanitas's jaw dropped as he remembered this place. It was the Badlands, where he, Ventus, and Mickey had fought a muscled boy in a black and red bodysuit and a silver and black mask. And elsewhere on the world was the Keyblade Graveyard, the last big place he had seen all three of his friends together.

Before Vanitas could say anything else, the winds blew in front of them, spraying dust all around, blinding the ground. Once the dust blew to the side, a figure of armor kneeling down with a cape on its shoulders, resting both hands on a Keyblade stabbed into the ground.

Vanitas gasped in realization as he remembered where he had seen the armor _and_ the Keyblade before.

"Terra..." Vanitas whispered as he looked directly at the armor of his old friend.

A rusting sound came from the armor, giving off the sound of, " _Aqua... Ven... V..._ "

Vanitas saw in the armor's head as he flashed back to the moments they had together. The four of them holding out star shaped charms colored differently for each of them, Terra grabbing Ventus's shoulder in an area that looked like a station core, and moments of the four of them together on the other part of this world. It ended as Sora, Donald, and Goofy summoned their weapons and stood in their battle stances.

"Wait!" Vanitas exclaimed, walking forwards and raising his arms to calm them down.

He looked directly at his three newer friends before looking at his older friend.

"Terra?" Vanitas asked.

" _A Keyblade?_ " the armor asked.

Vanitas was able to sense that there wasn't a physical body in the armor, but it was able to move on its own. It was moving by its Lingering Will.

" _Who are you?_ " the Lingering Will asked.

Vanitas then saw the Lingering Will that it was having another flashback to the Destiny Islands, when it was still Terra, and he had seen Sora and Riku when they were kids, sitting on the Paopu fruit tree. He then offered his Keyblade to Riku, who grasped the handle in his right hand.

" _I know you,_ " the Lingering Will said. " _We've met before, way back when._ "

Vanitas saw the Lingering Will was having another flashback, where it realized that when it was Terra, that while he had seen both Sora and Riku, Riku was the one he had passed the Keyblade to, not Sora.

" _No, that wasn't you,_ " the Lingering Will realized. " _You're not the one I chose. Where is he?_ "

Vanitas had a feeling that things were turning a dark turn, and he was suddenly glad that his friends hadn't dismissed their weapons.

" _Xe... ha... nort..._ " the Lingering Will muttered. " _Is that you?_ "

"Terra..." Vanitas said, fear in his voice.

"You know this guy?" Sora asked.

"He kind of almost became a Keyblade Master," Vanitas said. "Then he lost everything to Xehanort. Like me. And I guess over a decade later, his thoughts are a little mixed up."

" _Xeha...nort..._ " the Lingering Will muttered. " _Xehanort!_ "

"He thinks we're Xehanort," Vanitas said as he reached into his sling for his machete. "Fuck."

The Lingering Will slowly pushed itself to its feet and faced them. It grabbed it's Keyblade and pulled it out of the ground, standing in its battle stance.

The group immediately scattered as the Lingering Will started lunging towards them through the air. Donald blasted Thunder repeatedly, but it didn't do anything. Once the Lingering Will stopped lunging, it landed on the ground, and they charged in. Sora started combo attacks, Goofy spun around attacking with his shield, Donald blasted Blizzard, and Vanitas slashed with his machete. Sora ended his third combo attack with Explosion, then they scattered as the Lingering Will started lunging again.

"Where the hell was this when we were battling Xehanort?" Vanitas asked.

The Lingering Will landed on the ground and extended the Keyblade out into sort of like a whip and slashed all around, doing lots of attacks and severely damaging Goofy. When it landed back on its feet, Sora rushed in and did more combo attacks, Goofy charged in and attacked with his shield, Donald blasted Blizzard, and Vanitas climbed onto the armor's back, hitting the head with the butt of his machete. The Lingering Will then tossed him off and extended its Keyblade once more, slashing all around and damaging Goofy even more and severely damaging Donald.

The Lingering Will then rose up and started lunging towards them once more, and Sora and Vanitas made sure to dodge or block the attacks. After the Lingering Will finally stopped lunging, Vanitas replaced his machete with his sledgehammer and he and Sora charged in. Sora started doing more combo attacks while Vanitas swung his sledgehammer. They attacked until the Lingering Will extended its Keyblade and slashed around lots of times, knocking out Donald and Goofy who had just caught up, and damaging Sora and Vanitas a bit.

They landed on the ground, and the Lingering Will enlarged its Keyblade and converted it into a giant cannon. It shot out a large ball of energy that Sora blocked and deflected it back into the armor. It caused a large explosion which knocked back the Lingering Will. Sora and Vanitas got lunged towards the Lingering Will once more and kept attacking, Sora doing combo attacks and Vanitas swinging his sledgehammer.

Sora then slid over to Donald and Goofy and cast Curaga around all three of them, healing them. They all then had to start dodging as the Lingering Will disappeared and started sending surges of blue at them. Once that was over, the Lingering Will landed on the ground, and they ran in to attack. Sora started combo attacks, Donald blasted Blizzard, Goofy slid around on his shield like it was a sleigh before spinning around with it, and Vanitas swung his large hammer.

The Lingering Will then rose up and started swinging its extended Keyblade, so Sora and Vanitas slid out of the way while Donald dodged it, and Goofy got knocked back by the slashes. Vanitas pulled out a Beretta 93 and fired the three round burst at the Lingering Will as it converted its enlarged Keyblade into a canon. The Lingering Will fired a large ball of energy that Sora knocked back into it, causing an explosion. Sora then slid in and started doing combo attacks while Vanitas swung his sledgehammer and fired his gun, Goofy charged with his shield and Donald kept blasting Blizzard and Thunder.

The Lingering Will then extended its Keyblade and slashed around at them, knocking Sora and Vanitas back and knocking out Donald. The Lingering Will disappeared and Sora and Vanitas went across the landscape as gears appeared and floated around them, preparing to fire lasers. Sora blocked with his Keyblade just in time for the lasers to fire out and explode in front of him.

"Where the hell was _this_ when we were battling Xehanort!?" Vanitas exclaimed as he started backflipping away as lasers fired at him, exploding.

The Lingering Will then re-appeared a little distance away, and raised its Keyblade as gears appeared with light. The gears and light faded, and the Lingering Will was covered in red energy. Sora and Vanitas then raised their weapons to block as the Lingering Will charged at them and swung its Keyblade wildly, not relenting. Vanitas then got close to Sora as he started casting Reflega as gears appeared around them in an attack, and Goofy got knocked out. At one point he was too slow to cast it once more, and they got knocked back by some of the gears.

The Lingering Will then started doing lots of slashes, lunges, ground slams, and surges of energy. They had to dodge lots of times to make sure that the Lingering Will didn't, well, kill them. After a little while, the light then disappeared from the Lingering Will once more and it floated to its feet, so Sora and Vanitas charged in to attack again. Sora did a combo attack before casting Curaga on himself. The little mechanics that fired lasers appeared, so Vanitas held out a hand, and Goofy's shield flew in. He and Sora raised their weapons to block as the gears fired the lasers, blowing up in front of them.

The Lingering Will then reappeared and started slashing its extended Keyblade at them, which they blocked. Vanitas then threw the shield back to Goofy, just as he and Donald woke back up.

Light and gears then surrounded the Lingering Will again, and once they faded it was covered in red energy again. Sora threw up a Hi-Potion for Sora before just bailing and backflipping away as the Lingering Will started slashing its Keyblade and attacking with gears. Sora managed to block the attacks, while Donald and Goofy got knocked around painfully. Once the Lingering Will stopped attacking, Sora and Vanitas attacked once more, Sora with combo attacks and Vanitas with his now switched out axe.

After they did enough of these attacks, the Lingering Will disappeared and had the laser shooting gears appear once more. They dodged the lasers before the suit of armor re-appeared and had the light and gears surround it once more. Sora blocked with his Keyblade and Reflega while Vanitas backflipped away as the Lingering Will started the attacks again. During this, Goofy recovered and charged at the suit of armor with them. Once the energy faded from the Lingering Will, and they charged in. Sora did combo attacks, Vanitas swung his axe, and Goofy swung his shield and spun around with it.

While Donald recovered, the Lingering Will extended its Keyblade and started slashing around wildly, knocking back Goofy once more. The laser shooting gears appeared, and Vanitas blocked stepped in front of Donald and Goofy as the lasers fired. He exclaimed as the lasers exploded against the back, and he could feel _those_. The Lingering Will lunged a few more times before slashing with its extended Keyblade once more. Once it landed on the ground, the group rushed in. Sora did more combo attacks, Vanitas swung his axe, Donald blasted Blizzard, and Goofy swung his shield. Pretty soon, their attacks paid off, finishing off the Lingering Will and ending the fight.

They stood together in front of the Lingering Will as it stood and stared at them.

" _That's it,_ " the Lingering Will muttered. " _Your power. That's what I felt within you._ "

The Lingering Will stabbed its Keyblade into the ground, placed its hands on top, and kneeled down in front of it.

" _The power that connect to Aqua,_ " Vanitas then heard from somewhere. " _And to Ven and V's hearts._ "

Vanitas nodded at the suit of armor.

"We'll find a way to help you, Terra," he said. "I promise."

Their visions then went white.

* * *

When they could see again, they found themselves back in their seats in the Gummi ship. However, they were very surprised to see a new world on the radar. A large one made up of a city with lots of buildings on the bottom, and a white castle above it with the Nobody insignia on the sides. A large heart shaped moon even rose over the top of the castle, nice and foreboding.

"What's that?" Chip asked over the computer. "That big... thing?"

"Maybe that's the source of the weird reading we picked up before!" Dale suggested.

"And there's something funny about Twilight Town," Chip pointed out. "I'm seeing two of 'em!"

"Look!" Dale exclaimed. "It's another huge energy reading! And it's coming from someplace near the town."

"That huge world, that's the World That Never was," Vanitas told them. "It's the Organization's base. And that energy reading, it's gotta be that back door I mentioned. One of them must've left it open on the world."

"I don't know what's going on, fellas, but it sure sounds like there's some big trouble brewing around Twilight Town!" Chip told them.

"Let's go," Vanitas told his friends.

"Way ahead of you," Donald agreed, grabbing the controls.

The group nodded their heads in affirmation and looked out the windshield, towards Twilight Town.

Vanitas looked down at the watch on his wrist real quick. Six hours and thirty seven minutes. He sighed out as he looked back out the windshield. They had that much time until something big happened. Vanitas wasn't sure what was gonna happen, but he had a theory. And if he was right, then he wanted to make sure they figured everything out before that time was up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 I think people can relate to the fact that I died so many times fighting this guy that I memorized the entire dialogue
> 
> *2 I at first thought he was saying "Sin Harvest" during that, like he had in the first one
> 
> Final stretch, guys. Just a few chapters left


	31. Another Twilight Town...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group reunites with Mickey, and learns a few things...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to begin the final arc of the game, one that I actually think is freaking awesome

The group docked at Twilight Town and found themselves inside the train station, the same place they had originally left for their journey in. They walked across the platform towards the back exit.

"Hey!" Goofy called out. "I think we're almost there!"

Donald and Sora muttered in confusion as they stopped and looked back at the canine.

"Gawrsh, aren't we here because of the picture?" Goofy asked. He reached into his back pocket. "Look, I'll show ya!"

He showed the picture of the Twilight Town trio with Roxas in front of the gates to the old mansion.

"Yeah!" Donald agreed. "Goofy's right!"

"C'mon, let's go find this mansion!" Goofy announced.

"Yeah!" Sora agreed.

"It's just past the woods," Vanitas told them. "Ansem the Wise set up shop there, the back door should be somewhere in there."

They left the station, and they could tell something was up because they were ambushed by Nobodies. They fought through all kinds of Nobodies as they made their way across town and into the woods. After the woods, they walked out into the front lawn in front of the gates to find Hayner, Pence, and Olette sprawled on the ground. Sora ran up to Hayner and kneeled down to help him.

"Hey, are you all right?" Sora asked. Hayner pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. "What happened?"

Hayner got up into a sitting position and looked at them.

"We came here looking for Kairi," he explained. "Then those white things attacked us..."

"You gotta be careful!" Donald remarked.

"Yeah, those things are pretty good at... killing people," Vanitas commented.

"Yeah, you guys didn't have to go and do that," Sora said as Hayner shook his head.

"Of course we did," Hayner told him. "Kairi's our friend, too, ya know."

They all slowly stood back up.

"You're right..." Sora agreed. "You know, I never thought about it like that before."

"That's 'cause you're too busy having really strong feelings for her to care about other people's opinions," Vanitas commented.

"V, shut up," Sora said, annoyed.

Vanitas smirked, because this was the second time Sora didn't deny one of his claims that he and Kairi liked each other that way.

His attention was drawn back to Hayner as the blonde turned back towards the mansion.

"Word is, this mansion gets a lot of really strange visitors," Hayner told them.

"You have _no_ idea," Vanitas commented.

"We thought this place might be the gateway to some kind of alternate Twilight Town," Olette told them.

"What do you mean, alternate Twilight Town?" Sora asked.

"Hey, Goofy, you think we could see that crystal of yours?" Pence asked.

Goofy nodded his head, and pulled out the crystal in one hand, and the orange pouch in the other.

"I made that pouch myself, and I still have it," Olette told them. "So, there shouldn't be two of them here."

"And this is the trophy Seifer gave you," Hayner announced, holding the trophy they had left up, surprising Vanitas 'cause he didn't have it before. "You left it behind, remember?"

"It's the only one of its kind," Pence told them. "Same for the crystals: red, blue, yellow, green, only one of each color. But you've got your own!"

"So... where'd you get it?" Hayner asked.

Sora crossed his arms and hummed in thought.

"The pouch is from the King," Goofy told them. "When he gave us munny for the train ride, he gave us the crystal, too."

"But then... where did the _King_ get it?" Pence asked.

"Probably from Riku," Vanitas said. "The prick was working with Ansem the Wise when he constructed the digital Twilight Town, and he set up lots of stuff inside it. Riku stole some stuff from it, and Ansem told him specifically to destroy them 'cause they didn't belong in the real world. Looks like Riku ignored that order and gave the shit to Mickey, instead."

Vanitas looked at everyone, and they were all looking at him in surprise. That's when he realized...

"I never mentioned this stuff before, did I?" Vanitas asked.

"No, you did _not_!" Donald exclaimed.

"So there's definitely another town like this one," Hayner said. "That explains how the King got that pouch and the crystal. Everything makes sense!"

Sora and Goofy looked at each other in confusion.

"It... does?" Sora asked. "'Cause I'm missing a few things."

"That other town must be where whatever's missing from here went!" Pence told them.

"Like Kairi!" Olette pointed out.

"I get it!" Sora agreed. "...Some of it."

Their attentions were then drawn to behind them as a Dusk appeared. The Gummi quartet got ready to fight as another Dusk appeared. Vanitas pulled out a Mossberg 590 shotgun with a pistol grip and pumped it in preparation. The first one writhed then lunged towards them, but then Mickey appeared out of nowhere and took it out with a single slash of the Keyblade.

He landed on the ground and pointed at them, exclaiming, "Watch out!"

"Great last battle of the game for us to hear The Encounter in," Vanitas said with a smile. He then looked at Mickey. "Oh, by the way, we found Terra's armor and Keyblade. There's a portal that leads to where it is in your basement." *** _1_ ***

Mickey looked surprised but brushed it off as they faced the Nobodies together. Sora rushed in and started doing combo attacks against the Nobodies while Mickey slashed with his Keyblade, Vanitas fired his shotgun, Goofy spun around to attack, and Donald spammed Blizzard and Thunder. They kept attacking, taking out two Dusks, which were replaced by two more. Vanitas rammed the butt of his stock into the closest Dusk, before Mickey finished it off with his Keyblade, which was replaced with another Dusk.

The Dusks floated into the air, and Sora attacked them with aerial combos while Donald kept firing Thunder and Goofy kept throwing his shield. Pretty soon, the Dusks were defeated, and Creepers crawled into existence. Sora then started Unity Limit, and they started the slashes at one Creeper before lunging forwards. Then Donald rose up and they released the flares, then Vanitas glowed red and they slashed all their weapons, encased in fire. Then they shot out Drive Orbs, which was still pretty confusing. But then they got together in a circle and raised their weapons, releasing energy. It glowed a bright light, which destroyed the Creepers.

Samurai then appeared, and Vanitas slipped his shotgun back into his sling. When one Saurai slashed its sword at him, he caught the blade and pulled the Nobody in. He punched, kicked, and then stomped the Samurai to the ground before twisting its head around, causing it to explode. During this, the others fought off the other Samurai, just as another one appeared. Once Vanitas destroyed his, another one appeared as well, adding three to the problem. Vanitas fought hand to hand, Sora used his Keyblade, Donald kept spamming magic, Mickey also used his Keyblade, and Goofy kept ramming his shield into the enemies. Pretty soon, the last of the Samurai were defeated, and the fight was over.

They gathered together in front of where the gates outside the wall were.

"I got somethin' to tell ya," Mickey told them. "I found out where Ansem is, Ansem the Wise! The real Ansem!"

"Yeah, we know what you mean by that," Vanitas told him.

"He snuck into Organization XIII's stronghold," Mickey told them.

"And we've figured out where Kairi is!" Sora told the king. "I'm pretty sure we're right."

"But why'd you all come here?" Mickey asked.

"Ansem the Wise set up a computer here, along with the pods that the boys slept in for the year," Vanitas explained.

"Someone gave us a clue that this might be the way to Kairi," Sora added.

"Who?" Mickey asked.

"Well, Your Majesty, Sora thinks it mighta been Riku," Goofy said.

"It's just a feeling I had," Sora said.

"Welp, if that's what you think, then it's probably right," Mickey agreed.

"You mean Riku's okay!" Sora exclaimed.

"Well, last time we saw him," Vanitas admitted.

"If that's what ya think..." Mickey said.

"I've waited long enough, Your Majesty!" Sora exclaimed, crossing his arms. "I want you and V to tell me what you know!"

"It's not for me to say," Mickey said, turning around.

"Me, neither," Vanitas admitted. "Besides, if I told you what I know, you'd see Riku a lot differently than you do now. Trust me."

"But you guys!" Sora exclaimed. "Why?"

"I don't wanna break my promise," Mickey said, looking down.

"You made a promise to Riku!?" Sora asked, and Mickey covered his mouth with his hands as he realized his mistake. "So he's okay! I can see him again!"

"Huh?" Hayner asked as he, Pence, and Olette walked over to them. "Who's Riku?"

"My best friend," Sora told them.

"He's kind of a dick," Vanitas commented.

"That's _it_!" Pence exclaimed.

"Your Majesty?" Olette asked, leaning down slightly to see Mickey better. "You got the pouch with the crystal from Riku, didn't you? And you promised not to tell, right?"

"Gosh, guys..." Mickey said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"That's enough!" Donald exclaimed on behalf of his King.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "Let's go!"

"I remember the way," Vanitas informed them as they turned towards the mansion.

"Kairi! Riku! We're on our way!" Sora promised.

"You know they can't hear you, right?" Vanitas asked.

"Of course I know that!" Sora said with a nervous laugh.

Vanitas led the way into the mansion, with a chrome Browning Hi-Power handgun raised in preparation. Luckily, the room ended up being pretty empty, so it didn't need to be used.

"There's gotta be a computer somewhere," Mickey announced, garnering Pence's attention.

"A computer..." Pence said in thought. "Do you think it's connected to that other Twilight Town?"

"I know it is," Vanitas announced. "Like I said, Ansem constructed the other Twilight Town himself using data from the town, so of course he'd set up a terminal to get inside through his computer."

"And there should be a way into the realm of darkness there," Mickey added.

Vanitas thought back to the visions he had had of Roxas back when he was going through this place in the digital Twilight Town. He remembered briefly seeing in the room that his blonde friend had fought Axel in a red, black, and green portal in one corner. Exactly like the exit portal they had taken when they left the World that Never Was some months ago.

"It's in there," Vanitas assured them. "The back door I mentioned that leads to the Organization's base, Axel left it open in the digital world. That'll lead us directly to their world."

"Riku told you guys all that, didn't he!?" Sora accused.

"No, I figured that stuff out both before and after I shot him," Vanitas blandly said.

"You _shot_ him!?" Sora asked in shock.

"In the hand!" Vanitas defended himself. "He pissed me off. But I gave him a Potion; he was all right!"

"Stop arguing, guys!" Donald snapped.

"Right," Sora said, resting his hands on the back of his head. "Sorry..."

Vanitas led the group the way he had gone before, up the stairs and into the library. They were surprised to see the large gaping hole with the staircase that led down into lower levels where the floor was supposed to be, but brushed it off. He continued leading them down the stairs with his handgun raised, just in case. They exited out into the computer room, where they found said object in the corner next to the large gear in the wall.

"There!" Mickey exclaimed.

"We found it!" Sora announced, running up to the console.

"We probably should have paid more attention to this when we left before," Donald commented.

The kids followed in, and Hayner's attention was drawn to multiple indents in the walls that were small, but circular.

"Are these bullet holes?" he asked.

Everyone looked around at the walls, seeing that there were indeed, bullet holes in them. Their attentions were then directed towards the only one that uses guns, and Vanitas slipped it into one of the straps on his robes to serve as a holster.

"I might have fired at the walls in a fit of rage," he admitted.

"Why?" Pence asked.

"'Cause the computer was too important to shoot," Vanitas admitted, leaning against the wall.

"We'll talk about that later," Donald said before looking at the computer. "How does it work?"

Before Vanitas could get closer to the seat, Pence announced, "I can handle it."

The teen sat in the chair and started going to work on one of the consoles while the others watched.

"Okay..." Pence said. "Here we go... Ah!"

"What's wrong?" Hayner asked.

"I can't go any further without a password," Pence admitted.

"V, you were Ansem the Wise's apprentice for a year," Mickey said. "Do you have any idea what the password might be?"

"Hmm," Vanitas hummed, crossing one arm over his chest and raising his other hand to his chin in thought.

"Well, we only got this photo," Goofy admitted, raising the photo from the digital world.

Donald quacked, "And the salty sweet ice cream bar!"

Vanitas snapped his fingers and announced, "That's it! The only thing Ansem the Wise loved more than his research was his sweets. Specifically, his ice cream. And his favorite flavor... man, I was wondering why it sounded familiar. Sea-Salt Ice Cream."

"All right..." Pence announced as he typed in the words. "It worked!" *** _2_ ***

A beam of light then appeared out of the mechanism in the ceiling next to them, serving as the transport needed to get to the digital Twilight Town.

' _A possibly stoner conspiracy theorist figured out something I couldn't,_ ' Vanitas thought. ' _It's gonna take a lot of my self worth to not feel like an idiot for that._ '

"Let's go!" Sora announced as they looked at the beam.

"We'll be here to hold down the fort," Hayner promised.

"Say hi to Kairi!" Olette requested.

"You bet!" Sora promised her.

The Gummi quartet plus Mickey stepped onto the circular plate on the ground around the beam and stared out. Light and data then whirred around them, making their visions completely white. When they could see again, they saw the computer room in front of them once more.

"Are we back in the same place?" Sora asked as they walked off of the platform.

"No," Vanitas said, gesturing to the walls. "Look, no bullet holes."

"Look!" Donald announced as they made their way to the computer.

The device was battered and smashed beyond all recognition. It would probably never work again, what with most of the screens and keyboards blacked out and broken.

"This is the other Twilight Town," Sora assessed. "Roxas's Twilight Town."

"This makes me really glad I never introduced him to internet porn," Vanitas muttered to himself.

"You said the entrance to the realm of darkness is around here?" Mickey asked.

"Yep," Vanitas assured them. "This way."

He led them into the room where he had seen Roxas fighting Axel, and their attentions were immediately drawn to the portal in the corner.

"There..." Sora said.

The group walked up to the portal and stared at it in consideration.

"The back door," Vanitas informed them.

They walked through the portal and found themself in the data like chamber with Nobody sigils running along the ground and walls. Somehow, Mickey had disappeared, even though they saw the King follow them through. Vanitas was surprised, as he hadn't expected to have to come back to Betwixt and Between after he left it the second time. But what surprised him more was that there wasn't the portal that led to the World that Never Was.

"Looks like they were smart, for once," Vanitas admitted. "The portal that lets us in is closed."

"So, which was should we go?" Donald asked.

"Riku! Kairi!" Sora called out.

Just their luck, Dusks appeared and surrounded them. Vanitas pulled out his spear, and they got into their battle stances.

Sora started the usual combo attacks while Goofy spun around and attacked with his shield, and Donald shot up Blizzard and Thunder. Vanitas twirled his spear like a staff, slashing with the blade or knocking with the opposite end. He then smacked a Dusk in the face with the long part before jabbing the Nobody with the stomach, then tossing it over his shoulder. The group kept attacking, doing their various attacks, until the Dusks were destroyed.

The group gathered together, and Sora and Vanitas looked towards the blue side of the chamber as more Dusks appeared by the second all around them.

"It's no use!" Sora exclaimed.

"Don't stop moving, or the darkness will overtake you!" Axel's voice suggested from somewhere.

They looked towards the blue side to see the redhead appear out of nowhere and take out two Dusks easily with his chakrams.

"Get goin'!" he instructed them.

"Why?" Sora asked.

"Don't ask, just do it!" Axel told him.

"We're not leaving you!" Vanitas told his friend.

Two Dusks then tackled the Nobody to the ground. The group ran towards Axel and Sora and Vanitas slashed through the Nobodies on Axel, destroying them. They then kneeled down to see the fallen redhead better.

"You okay?" Sora asked as Axel pushed himself up onto his knees.

"I kidnapped Kairi, but she got away from me," Axel admitted.

"Crafty girl," Vanitas commented.

"After that, Saïx caught her," Axel added. "He's a member of Organization XIII. Saïx. Got it memorized? Now go save her!"

"I just said we're not leaving you behind," Vanitas remarked.

A Dusk teleported into existence behind Sora, but he slashed it with his Keyblade, destroying it.

"Leave us alone!" he exclaimed as Axel stood up behind him and Vanitas.

Donald and Goofy charged off to fight Nobodies, leaving Sora and Vanitas with Axel. The redhead summoned his chakrams again, and stood ready to fight with them, even if he did look exhausted. Sora started attacking with combo attacks, Axel slashed his chakrams, and Vanitas swung and jabbed with his spear. Four Dusks followed Axel, so he surged back towards them, leaving a trail of fire.

"Just like old times," Vanitas told Axel with a smirk before firing his Browning Hi-Power handgun at one Dusk, destroying it.

Sora destroyed another Dusk, and an Assassin appeared. It tried jabbing forwards, but Sora stopped it and started a combo attack on it. Vanitas finished it off with three shots from his gun.

"I thought you controlled those things?" Vanitas asked Axel, swinging his spear at another Dusk.

"I did, but they _really_ didn't like my betrayal of the Organization," Axel admitted, slashing his chakrams at Dusks that appeared in place of the destroyed ones.

More Dusks and Assassins appeared, and Axel once more surged forwards, leaving behind a trail of fire. One Assassin went into the ground and floated around before it tried slashing its wings at them lots of times. Sora kept up the combo attacks while Axel started jumping up and slamming into the ground, releasing shockwaves of fire. Vanitas swung his spear and fired his handgun, before knocking back another Assassin. Axel then slid up to that Assassin and threw his flame encased chakrams directly at it. One last Assassin appeared, and Sora took it out with a long combo attack and a blast of Thundaga.

The three then got together so they were back to back to back, facing off against an entire army of dusks around them, practically shoulder to shoulder as they faced off against the trio.

"I think I liked it better when they were on my side," Axel admitted.

"Feeling a little... regret?" Sora asked with sarcasm as he looked up at the tall redhead.

"Oh, come on, you know he's on our side," Vanitas remarked.

"Nah..." Axel assured Sora. "I can handle these punks. (chuckle) Watch this!"

He jumped forwards and slowly raised his chakrams up, surrounding himself with fire and black thorns. His chakrams floated around him on their own, encased in fire, as Axel floated up. He hummed to himself as he did so before yelling out as he released the energy, making pillars of fire appear that Sora and Vanitas covered their eyes to block how bright they were.

Once the two doppelgängers lowered their arms to see again, they were amazed to see the Nobodies around them were all gone.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed as they looked at the red part of the area, where Donald and Goofy had reappeared.

"You are _so_ teaching me how to do that!" Vanitas announced as they looked towards the blue part of the area.

But they were surprised to see Axel laying on the ground, with black smoke rising up out of him.

"No!" Vanitas exclaimed in denial as he and Sora ran to the downed redhead.

"You're... fading away..." Sora said in distraught as they kneeled down to Axel.

"Well, that's what happens when you put your whole being into an attack," Axel admitted, not sounding ashamed. "You know what I mean? Not that Nobodies actually _have_ beings... right?"

"Don't say that," Vanitas said, shaking his head in distraught, his voice cracking a bit.

"Anyway, I digress," Axel said, looking up at them. "Go, find Kairi. Oh, almost forgot... Sorry for what I did to her."

"When we find her, you can tell her that yourself," Sora countered.

"That's not how it works," Vanitas said, looking up sadly at Sora. "And you know it."

"Besides, my heart just wouldn't be in it, you know?" Axel said, looking up while still smiling slightly. "Haven't got one."

He chuckled slightly, and Vanitas felt his heart melting at the feeling of losing _another_ one of his friends.

"Axel, what were you trying to do?" Sora asked, also sad for the redhead.

"I wanted to see Roxas," Axel admitted, surprising Sora a bit. "He... was the only one I liked... He made me feel... like I had a heart. It's kind of... funny..."

Vanitas felt his heart melting even more as both he and Axel shared a flashback to Roxas's 255th day, when the three of them had a nice time on top of the clock tower. He didn't know what was worse: this, or the fact that despite all of this, Axel still didn't remember Xion. The flashback ended as Axel looked up to Sora.

"You make me feel... the same..." Axel said, before shaking his head and frowning in determination. "Kairi's in the castle dungeon. Now go."

Axel weakly held up his left hand, and a blue, green, and while portal appeared on the end of the blue side.

"Axel..." Sora said in sadness.

"Not you, too..." Vanitas said, his voice cracking once again.

He felt a tear running down his cheek once more as more lines and thorns rising up in the air. Pretty soon, Axel was encased completely as they kept rising up. Within minutes, the thorns stopped fading, and Axel was gone.

Vanitas shook his head as he and Sora stood up, still distraught. They faced the portal that Axel gave them with Donald and Goofy by their sides.

"This leads to..." Sora said.

"Axel gave us this as a last gift," Vanitas said. "And I know he wouldn't let us down. This is surely the way to the Organization's world."

"Aw, come on!" Donald snapped. "Let's get going!"

Sora and Vanitas led the way as they walked towards the portal, right into the light. Pretty soon, they were traveling through the black, blue, and white, ready for whatever was next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 With the Hall of the Cornerstone being under the throne room, it can kind of be seen as a basement in some light
> 
> *2 Anyone else a little curious about what happens if you try choosing the other two options in the decision of what to tell Pence? I am, but I never have it in me to actually choose them
> 
> Pretty sad that Axel's gone now, but I find solace in the fact we'll be seeing him soon again as Lea. 'Cause something that seemingly half the internet ignores is that III takes place just a short time after II. So even though there'll be two Marvel crossovers after this before we get back to the KH storyline, that means that we'll be seeing Lea pretty soon


	32. The World That Never Was

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group reaches the Organization's base, and run into troubles along the way...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins...

In a dark alleyway on the World That Never Was, the black, green, and blue portal opened up on a wall, and out walked Sora, Vanitas, Donald, and Goofy. They looked around in thought as Mickey walked out of the portal and up to the corner of the alley. The rest of the group followed behind him and stared with him up in the sky.

Far, far in the distance, the white castle of the Organization floated high in the air, with a heart shaped moon surrounded in blue light floating behind the highest peak.

"There it is, boys," Vanitas informed them.

"Axel said Kairi's in the dungeon," Sora told Mickey.

"Then we better find a way to get to that castle!" Mickey announced.

"I know the way through town," Vanitas told them. "Pretty sure the only inhabitants here are Nobodies. But it's a long way, so we better hurry. We've only got..."

He checked his watch.

"Five hours and twelve minutes," Vanitas read out.

"Five hours and twelve minutes until what?" Mickey asked.

"We don't know," Donald admitted. "V set up the timer during a psychic phase."

"Then it must be important," Mickey assessed. They nodded their heads in agreement. "Then let's hurry!"

Mickey started running down the road in front of them, with the others soon following behind. They had to fight large amounts of Shadow-like Heartless as they made their way through the city, which Vanitas remembered was exactly how things went last time. Sometimes, he hated repetition.

Pretty soon, they were walking down the road as it started raining. They reached the ground in front of the skyscraper, and Sora looked up, feeling he remembered this place from somewhere. Lightning flared as they all looked up, seeing they were closer to the castle.

Sora and Vanitas continued the walk forwards, but Vanitas paused at the sound of a blade sliding out of a sheath.

"Sora! V!" Donald called out.

They turned around to see two Samurai standing in front of Donald and Goofy, holding out their blades in an X shape to block them off.

"Donald! Goofy!" Sora exclaimed at the same time Vanitas exclaimed, "Donnie! Goof!"

Sora and Vanitas moved forwards, but then lines suddenly appeared in the air, to their confusion. They turned around just in time to see a portal appear and disappear, depositing a shorter person in a black coat. Vanitas went wide eyed as he recognized who it was, not even needing his telepathy to do so.

Darkness appeared in Roxas's right hand, making Oblivion appear.

"A Keyblade?" Sora asked in shock.

Sora summoned his Keyblade and stood ready, while Vanitas just watched in shock. Roxas charged at Sora and swung his Keyblade. Sora blocked with his own and exclaimed as his opponent pushed in. Roxas pushed the blade even more forwards, and lines appeared in the air once more before light flared.

When Vanitas could see again, he was floating in the air in a sea of black. Roxas had somehow forced himself and Sora into a Dive to the Heart, and Vanitas had been brought along to watch. Sora stood in his battle stance, facing off against the still hooded Roxas, who held both Keyblades in hand. Vanitas was sure his heart was breaking as he knew what was about to happen between two people he saw as brothers. *** _1_ ***

Roxas released energy with his Keyblades, making it surround him in an attack. Sora blocked it with his Keyblade, then did a combo attack, followed by a combo attack. Sora then slid back while Roxas slid towards him and swung his Keyblades. Sora blocked two of Roxas's combo attacks, doing a full combo attack ending with Explosion. Roxas was knocked back, so he retaliated by charging forwards and slashing vertically with his Keyblades. Roxas slid closer to Sora once more and released the horizontal energy once more, which Sora dodged by jumping up. He then did an aerial attack, knocking back Roxas, before he slid across the glass floor once more.

Sora dodged another horizontal slash attack, combo attacks with his Keyblades, and then blocked a lunge attack from Roxas. He attacked on his own with a full combo before running to dodge once more. Roxas lunged forwards and started swinging his Keyblades at the same time Sora ran forwards and started swinging his own. Sora ended up being the faster one, knocking Roxas up into the air. He then raised his opposite hand, and Oathkeeper and Oblivion glowed completely, floating down over Sora's shoulders. Roxas released pillars of light that Sora dodged as he charged forwards and attacked with his Keyblade, with Oathkeeper and Oblivion adding to the attacks, and doing lots of damage.

"This sucks," Vanitas said. He pointed at Sora doing the attacks with Roxas's Keyblades. "But that's really fucking awesome."

He winced as Sora finished that combo attack, sending Oathkeeper and Oblivion jabbing into the hooded blonde. Roxas slid around covered in light while making pillars of light fly around to attack, but Sora managed to dodge them and do one more combo attack with his and Roxas's Keyblades. Roxas then slid behind Sora and took back his Keyblade, and Sora managed to dodge an attack of his by sliding out of the way and somehow igniting Valor Form on his own.

Roxas was knocked back by the energy from the Form Change, then Vanitas winced for his friend as Sora quickly rushed in and started attacking with the Kingdom Key in one hand and Star Seeker in the other, doing wicked looking attacks. Roxas's exclaims of pain with each attack only made it worse. Sora dodged it as Roxas released pillars and a horizontal slash, then he jumped up and did an aerial combo attack, knocking Roxas through the air. Sora dodged more pillars before doing another ground combo attack, but then Roxas spun his Keyblades, knocking Sora back before he slid to the center of the glass floor.

Vanitas remembered what was coming and winced for Sora. Roxas floated up in the air a bit as patterns appeared in the floor. He then released some light that changed the blackness into the area of clouds with light shining through them from when Sora closed the Keyholes.

"Ohhh..." Vanitas hummed in understanding, remembering how this never happened the times he saw this happen in the World That Never Was.

Sora then started running around the glass floor as Roxas spun his Keyblades, releasing the orbs of light. He managed to dodge them all, which impressed Vanitas. Valor Form then ended as Sora dodged Roxas's combo attacks. He then blocked as Roxas tried lunging forwards, then did a combo attack in retaliation. Sora dodged more pillars and Keyblade slashes before following it up with another combo attack, knocking back Roxas. Roxas then lunged forwards slashing his Keyblades vertically while also sending out pillars. Sora blocked it with Reflega before dodging more of Roxas's attacks.

Sora then did another combo attack, then ignited Wisdom Form. His clothes went blue, and he started casting Reflega as Roxas did combo attacks and sent pillars of light at him. Sora then slid around, sending out bursts of magic with his Keyblade, blasting Thundaga or Blizzaga, and then healing himself with Curaga. With his magic expenses empty, Wisdom Form ended. Just as Roxas slid to the center and the patterns appeared on the ground as he floated up. Roxas sent out the orbs, and Sora managed to dodge them all by Dodge Rolling around the the glass floor.

Roxas jumped up and slashed forwards vertically with his Keyblades while sending out pillars of light, which Sora dodged by sliding forwards. Sora dodged more of the hooded blonde's attacks before doing a full combo attack, then cast Reflega as Roxas jumped up and slashed vertically with his Keyblades once more. They managed to do a pattern, Roxas would do the amazing attacks that he had, Sora would dodge them, and then he would retaliate with a full combo before he started dodging again. Roxas then slid up and swung his Keyblades to do horizontal slashes, ending them with a full attack that knocked Sora across the area.

Sora cast Curaga once again as Roxas slid to the center, rose up, and had the patterns appear on the ground. He then Dodge Rolled across the ground as he dodged the orbs of light. Roxas slid towards him and tried releasing the energy around him once more, but Sora dodged it and retaliated with a combo attack, then ignited Limit Form. Sora then did a combo attack that ended with Zantesunken, then followed it up with Ars Arcanum. Vanitas never realized how much he missed seeing that move, which then made him wince as he remembered it was being used on another one of his friends.

The two then started their pattern once more, Sora dodging Roxas's attacks and then retaliating with his own combo attacks. The two then charged at each other once more, and once more, Sora ended up being faster. He knocked Roxas up into the air, raised a hand, and Oathkeeper and Oblivion floated down over his shoulders. Sora did a combo attack once more, but then Roxas quickly took back his Keyblades. He followed it up with a combo attack before igniting Master Form.

Oathkeeper appeared floating over Sora's other hand, and he cast Reflega multiple times before doing major combo finishers, doing quite a bit of damage. Sora then cast Thundaga before dodging more pillars of light, and Master Form ended. Roxas then slid to the center and rose up once more with the patterns appearing on the ground. He spun his Keyblades and released the energy. Sora dodged some orbs before he got cornered against the barrier as the orbs exploded, knocking him back against it.

"That's enough!" Sora exclaimed, igniting a Form that was unknown.

His clothes then turned silver as he floated up, Oblivion appearing with the Kingdom Key in an X behind his shoulders. Sora dodged more of Roxas's attacks before doing wicked combo attacks once more, knocking Sora back once more. The Form, Final Form, then ended, and Sora charged at Roxas. Roxas made his Keyblades into an X and caught Sora's in a lock.

"Wh-who are you?" Sora exclaimed in confusion.

Roxas breathed out before cryptically saying, "Someone from the dark."

The two then leaped away on opposite sides and looked up at each other.

"You can't be... Riku?" Sora asked.

"Riku?" Roxas asked. "...I defeated a Riku once."

"You what!?" Sora asked in anger.

"Tell me..." Roxas said, lowering his Keyblades a bit. "Tell me why he picked you!"

Roxas charged forwards and carried his Keyblades backhanded, letting the ends drag along the ground and release sparks. Sora dodged it as Roxas got in close and swung his Keyblades. He then twirled around and blocked as Roxas swung them again. Roxas then twirled around again and Sora had to move quick to dodge Oathkeeper. Roxas then launched himself up over Sora and landed down the glass floor. He lunged at Sora and swung his Keyblade at his feet, and Sora jumped up to dodge it.

Roxas then swung one of his Keyblades at Sora, who deflected it with his own Keyblade before floating up. The hooded blonde then took a step back and launched himself up into the air after Sora. Sora did a backflip and blocked Roxas's Keyblades while upside down, before launching himself back down onto the glass floor. He stood and looked up at Roxas in the air, who looked back down at him.

"Damn, this looks awesome..." Vanitas muttered.

From his viewpoint, Vanitas was able to see that Sora was standing on the glass floor, over the pictures of himself, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kairi. he was able to figure out that Roxas looking down at the same thing in realization.

"I see," Roxas said. "That's why."

Roxas landed back on the ground, and Sora backed up as Roxas kept slashing his Keyblades. Sora then raised his Keyblade in defense as Roxas kept slamming his Keyblades into Sora's. Roxas did this so many times that Sora started wincing, then fell to one knee. The hooded blonde then slashed with Oathkeeper, knocking the Kingdom Key out of Sora's hand and across the platform.

Sora then rushed forwards towards his Keyblade, but then Roxas jabbed Oathkeeper down at the hand guard, keeping it in place while pointing Oblivion at Sora. Sora gripped his fist and looked down in distraught. But then he looked back up and held his hand out for his Keyblade. The Kingdom Key disappeared in a flash of light, greatly confusing Roxas.

"What!?" he exclaimed.

The Kingdom Key re-appeared in Sora's hands, and he slashed forwards, right through Roxas. The hooded blonde was quiet for a second, then he dropped his Keyblades, which disappeared as they clanged against the ground. He walked forwards, to Sora's confusion. Vanitas then gripped his head as he saw that Roxas was having a flashback.

Roxas was on top of the clock tower once more, raising his fist.

"Look who's finally awake," a familiar voice commented.

Roxas gasped and looked up in surprise to see Axel standing at where his usual spot was.

"Axel..." Roxas said.

"Or, maybe I have it wrong," Axel admitted. "Might be time to sleep. Soon, we won't be able to talk like this anymore."

"Does that mean..." Roxas said, looking down. "It's time for me to go back to where I belong?"

"You know, I've been thinking about something Naminé said," Axel admitted as he sat in his spot. "Roxas, are you really sure that you don't have a heart? Is it possible that we _all_ have one? You, me, her... Or is that just wishful thinking?"

"I dunno," Roxas admitted, looking down again. "I can't... just look inside."

"Yeah, I guess not," Axel agreed, looking down.

"But I figure," Roxas said, looking out at the town. "If there is something in there, inside us, then we'd feel it, wouldn't we? And if so... No, never mind."

"C'mon, don't leave me hanging," Axel insisted with a slight smile.

"Sora and V will find the answer we're looking for," Roxas said with a smile. "I know they will. Because Sora's me. And V... he's too stubborn to not figure out something like that."

Axel chuckled and admitted, "True enough."

He then pulled ice cream out from nowhere, as they usually did, and offered one to a now surprised Roxas.

"Thanks," Roxas said as he took the bar.

They started eating their bars as they stared out at the sunset, just like the old times. That made Vanitas incredibly nostalgic.

"Man, I miss the old times," Axel admitted. "Still got it memorized? The day we met, when you got your new name, you and I sat right here and watched the sun set."

"Yeah," Roxas agreed. "This place is home. Me, Hayner, Pence, Olette... We've shared a lot of adventures."

"You'll see them again," Axel assured him. "I know you will."

"Yeah, you're right," Roxas agreed. "Well, I should go." Axel very visibly deflated. "Sora's waiting for me."

"Yeah, I suppose he is," Axel agreed, looking to the side and taking another bite of his bar. "Man, this is some good ice cream, huh?"

The two friends looked at each other and smiled as light surrounded them.

"Take care, okay?" Roxas asked.

"Right back at you, buddy," Axel said as a tear slid down his cheek.

The tear hit the ground as the flashback ended, and Vanitas felt a tear running down his own cheek as well. He looked up at Sora and Roxas as the latter went past the former, falling forwards with his hands on his knees, his hood slipping off. Sora's jaw dropped in surprise as he frowned at Roxas, as the blonde stood up and stared out.

"You make a good other," Roxas admitted as he looked over his shoulder at Sora, light gathering around them.

When Sora and Vanitas could see again, they found themselves in the courtyard in front of the Memory Skyscraper once more, rain still falling and thunder still striking in the distance.

"You make a good other," Sora said in thought.

"God, I miss that kid," Vanitas admitted, looking down in sadness with his eyes closed.

Donald and Goofy walked up to the doppelgängers and stared up at them.

"Are you okay?" Donald asked.

"What... just happened?" Sora asked.

"Gawrsh, I dunno," Goofy admitted. "You two just disappeared. Then me and Donald had to fight some Nobodies."

"Oh," Sora said, softly. "He said... he defeated Riku..."

"Who said that?" Donald asked.

"That guy," Sora told them. "In the black coat."

"But nobody could defeat Riku," Donald pointed out.

"We defeated Riku," Vanitas reminded him. "Twice."

"Oh, yeah," Donald remembered.

"Three times for me..." Vanitas muttered.

"A black coat means Organization XIII," Goofy pointed out. "He musta been tryin' to trick ya."

"Yeah, that must be why we didn't see him!" Donald suggested.

"They have their moments, sometimes they can only appear to who they want to appear to," Vanitas told them. "Darkness works in some pretty fucking weird ways."

"C'mon, let's just find a way to get into that castle!" Goofy announced.

Donald and Goofy started walking back down the road, with Vanitas and Sora following behind. Sora looked back in thought before he kept walking with them.

They soon caught up with Mickey as they walked up the ramped road to the entrance to the Organization's base. The group found themselves at the edge of a cliff, as part of a gigantic pit in the middle of the city. The castle floated up high in the air above them, but the greenish ramp that Vanitas remembered from last time was gone.

"Dead end?" Sora asked.

"They must've turned off the ramp," Vanitas admitted. "They're getting smarter."

"There's gotta be a way up there," Mickey announced.

Vanitas then gripped his head, seeing the inside of the Organization dungeon. Kairi was gripping her knees to her chest with Pluto walking towards her. She pet the dog's head to cheer herself up a bit, but their attentions were drawn to Saïx outside the cell, saying they were keeping her there to keep Sora fighting. Once he was gone, a dark corridor then appeared in the wall, and Naminé popped her head out and offered a hand. Kairi took her Nobody's hand, and light grew.

The vision ended as the light then appeared on one piece of the castle. Sora covered his eyes in confusion, before his Keyblade appeared in the air above him. He gripped the Keyblade and pointed it up in the air. A circle of lines appeared over the tip, and a beam of light shot out. The bridge that Vanitas remembered from before then appeared, leading all the way up into the castle.

"There's the bridge," Vanitas commented.

"Kairi... we're almost there," Sora said.

"We better hurry, we've only got..." Vanitas said as he checked his watch. "Three hours and twenty-two minutes." He looked up at the bridge in apprehension. "And we're about to walk up a very, very, very long bridge. Fun." *** _2_ ***

They started their walk up the bridge, and as Vanitas expected, it ended up taking a whole twenty minutes off of Vanitas's timer. They came up to the top of the ramp, finding themselves in the room that Vanitas and Roxas had fought Saïx in.

"Kairi!" Sora called out. "Where are you?"

"Shut the fuck up, man!" Vanitas whispered.

"Remember where we are!" Mickey told Sora. "This is their stronghold."

Mickey started running up the pathway ahead of them.

"Wait!" Donald called out. "Your Majesty!"

"He'll be all right," Vanitas informed him. "He's a Keyblade Master with lots of years of experience."

The four of them stood in fighting stances in preparation.

"Be careful!" Goofy told them. "I think we got company!"

Vanitas then gripped his head in pain as he got another vision. Kairi and Naminé were making their way down one of the castle walkways holding hands, but stopped in place when Saïx appeared with two Berserkers. They bantered a bit before something behind them surprised them. Riku appeared and took out the Berserkers with a Keyblade of his own. Naminé revealed that it was Riku, and he dismissed his Keyblade, forcing Saïx to the wall. Saïx then got a cocky smirk and opened a dark corridor behind him, escaping. Riku tried to follow him, but Kairi caught up and made the changed silver haired boy face her without his hood.

The vision ended, and Vanitas exclaimed in pain as he gripped his side. He brushed it off, but the pain didn't go away as he and the others made their way up the path. He pushed through it and pulled out a MAC 10 with a silencer and fired at the Nobodies that came near them, including a new one called a Sorcerer. They made their way up the pathway and the elevator, even going up a walkway that gave them a good view of everything below them. Fighting through the pain, Vanitas went with his friends up the stairs, determined as all hell.

They soon came out into a large room with a giant rectangular floor and two walkways on each side that led to exits. Above them was a walkway, a perch that gave Vanitas a pretty good suspicion of who they'd fight in here, and a tall edge far over them. Looking around, he could even see a balcony over the walkway. He shook his head and gritted his teeth through the pain as they walked onto the large rectangular platform.

"Sora... Vanitas... you've done well," Saïx announced on the tall edge far above them.

They looked up at the man and Sora snapped, "Where's Kairi?"

"Who knows?" Saïx asked. "I expect she's catching up with her friend from the darkness."

"What do you mean!?" Sora snapped.

"She doesn't need you anymore," Saïx told him.

"That's bullshit!" Vanitas exclaimed. "She and Sora are gonna start dating once this whole mess with you assholes ends."

"Well, at some point," Sora admitted, before going wide eyed and red faced. "Shut up, V!"

"Well, you don't have to believe it..." Saïx said, annoyed at their actions. "But you can believe this. Organization XIII has no further use for you..." He gestured out to the heart shaped moon outside the giant glass ceiling. "Just look there. Our Kingdom Hearts... Thanks to you, we've collected countless hearts. Can you hear their euphoria? Now, all they need is one more helping from the Keyblade bearer!"

He snapped his fingers, and circles of darkness appeared all around on the walls, depositing who knows how many Shadows. On the platform they stood on, Shadows and Armored Knights appeared all over.

"I've got an awesome idea," Vanitas admitted, placing his bag on the ground and grunting as he reached inside. "Both my motorcycles I left on different worlds, but I managed to stuff this in my bag?"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy stood back to back to back and Donald exclaimed, "We gotta fight!"

"But, Kingdom Hearts!" Sora said.

They were then all surprised by a red Mustang slamming down onto some Armored Knights and Shadows, crushing them immediately.

"You stuffed _that_ into your bag!?" Sora asked in surprise.

"Tony gave me a car, I wanted to keep it!" Vanitas defended his actions.

He then exclaimed as he stepped back closer to his Mustang, dodging a slash from and Armored Knight's knife. Channeling his inner Pete Wentz from that one Fall Out Boy music video, Vanitas leaped up onto his car and looked down at the Heartless around him. _***3***_

"Fuck you all!" Vanitas snapped, pointing at the Heartless.

He pulled out a SPAS 12 and a Sadu ASALT 96 from his sling, preparing both for fire. He then pulled out a remote and pressed a button, turning on the stereo inside and blaring techno music loudly. He fired his guns at the Heartless around them, laughing like a maniac. *** _4_ ***

"Sora!" Kairi's voice called out. Sora looked up at the balcony over the walkway to see Kairi looking down in delight at him. "Sora! It's really you!"

"Kairi!" Sora called out in excitement.

Shadows then tackled Sora to the ground, surprising them all.

"V! Get 'em!" Donald exclaimed.

Vanitas pointed his guns towards the Shadows, but exclaimed in disappointment.

"I can't get 'em without hitting Sora!" he announced in distraught.

"You leave Sora alone!" Kairi snapped, looking down at the Heartless.

She jumped off of the balcony and landed on the walkway, but was then immediately surrounded by Shadows. They tackled her to the ground pretty quickly.

"Sora...!" Kairi exclaimed weakly.

But then Riku appeared next to her and took out the Shadows, helping her to her feet. A Keyblade with flower designs then appeared in his hand.

"Take it," Riku said, offering the Keyblade to Kairi.

Kairi took it in her hands, then nodded in determination.

"This time... _I'll_ fight!" Kairi announced, slashing through the air with the Keyblade. She laughed to Riku, "You know Sora's completely hopeless without us!"

The sound of deep voiced exclaiming drew their attention to the railings next to them. Vanitas had jumped up and was holding himself up as he looked at the two of them.

"You know, that's actually a very mean thing to say about your boyfriend," Vanitas pointed out. He pointed at Riku. "And you..." *** _5_ ***

He was cut off by a Shadow lunging forwards and tackling him by the face. Vanitas exclaimed as he fell back down onto his car. Kairi gasped as she watched him fall.

"Oh, man, he's right, that sounded so mean!" she agreed. She gripped her fist in determination. "I'll make up for it!"

Kairi ran forwards and slashed through two Shadows easily. Riku was surprised, not by how good she was with the Keyblade, but by the fact she didn't deny Sora being her boyfriend. He brushed it off with a smirk and summoned his Keyblade, Way to the Dawn, and charged forwards with her.

After witnessing that, Saïx looked up in surprise to see that Maleficent and Pete were standing at the balcony, staring at him.

"Well, well," he commented. "Will the intrusions never end?"

Saïx hummed as darkness surged around him, making him disappear.

"Why Pete... this castle is perfect," Maleficent told the giant cat. "Perhaps we should... acquire it."

"Well, the setup is..." Pete said with uncertainty. "Kinda nice, I guess, but... what about all the Heartless? This in-between world, it's way too close to the darkness! They ain't gonna listen to us here!"

"Once again, you underestimate me," Maleficent said with a smile.

During all this, Vanitas had pushed the Shadows off of him and fired at the Heartless with his guns once more. With the Sadu ASALT 96 in one hand and SPAS 12 in the other, he fired at the Heartless all around them, even kicking some off of his car while the music kept playing.

Vanitas closed one eye in pain as a vision started, and he did his best to fire at the Heartless and not hit his friends, instead. In the vision, Mickey ran up the nearest stairwell while fighting through Nobodies and Heartless. He found Ansem the Wise with a device next to him at the tallest point of the outside walkway, and saved him from Dusks. Ansem removed the bandages from his face and looked down at Mickey. He slowly filled in Mickey on everything so far, about how he had used Roxas as a pawn for his revenge scheme against Xehanort with Sora, and how he did feel bad about everything he did. Didn't make Vanitas want to kick his former master's ass any less, though. Ansem the Wise even explained his thoughts for why Riku now looked like Xehanort's Heartless, 'cause he had given into the darkness to get Roxas, and Mickey explained the promise Riku made him give to watch out for Sora, Donald, and Goofy while he was gone.

The vision ended as Vanitas kicked another Heartless away from his car before shooting it with his last immediate shell in the SPAS 12, destroying it. He slipped his shotgun back into his sling and jumped off, landing next to his friends.

"Get off!" Sora exclaimed, pushing the Shadows off of his back, and Vanitas took them out with the remaining bullets in his Romanian SMG.

Sora stood up and looked up at the walkway to see Kairi and Riku slashing at Heartless on the walkway above them.

"What's going on!?" Sora exclaimed.

"It's a goddamn Destiny Island reunion," Vanitas commented, jump-kicking an Armored Knight off of the platform they stood up.

The sound of a laser firing appeared, and a familiar dart appeared on the ground. The sound of the Arrowguns that Vanitas hated firing then started up, and the darts shot through the air and into the Heartless around the platform, taking them all out, much to the Gummi Quartet's confusion.

"Have you been a good boy?" Xigbar's voice called out.

"I fucking hate this guy," Vanitas muttered, shaking his head with a frown.

"Show yourself!" Sora snapped.

Xigbar appeared at the tallest ledge and looked down at them, annoyance on his face.

"Oh, it sounds like you haven't," he commented. "Sora! Roxas!"

"Roxas?" Sora asked. He looked down at Donald. "Hey, did he just call me Roxas?"

"It's a long story," Vanitas said as Donald nodded his head.

"You've really put Organization XIII in a pickle," Xigbar told them. "I guess that must be why the Keyblade chose you. But, _man_ , did it pick a dud this time. You don't look like you're half the hero the others were."

Vanitas wondered if he was talking about Terra, Ventus, and Aqua.

"Are you done rambling?" Sora asked Xigbar in annoyance.

"Rambling?" Xigbar asked. "As if! All I'm trying to tell you, traitor..." He pointed right at Sora. "Is that your time is up!"

Xigbar summoned his Arrowguns and cocked them in preparation.

"Here he comes!" Goofy exclaimed.

Xigbar jumped off of the ledge and landed in front of the quartet as they got into their battle stances, with Vanitas pulling out the enchanted Heckler and Koch G3SG/1 sniper rifle.

"You really shouldn't have betrayed us," Xigbar said, standing in a battle stances.

The older adversary then geared his Arrowguns together into one larger gun, then teleported in the perch, exclaiming, "Gotcha now!"

Vanitas fired his sniper rifle at Xigbar while Sora, Donald and Goofy dodged the darts. He then exclaimed as some of the darts hit his Mustang.

"That's my car, asshole!" Vanitas exclaimed, firing his rifle some more.

A single dart then fired at Sora, and he dodged around before deflecting it straight at Xigbar, hitting the man right in the face.

"You clever little sneak!" Xigbar exclaimed, before teleporting over the platform, upside down for some reason.

Sora blocked the darts fired at him while Goofy threw his shield. Luckily, when Xigbar teleported to another side of the area, the shield kept following him. Sora started to shoot up Thundaga, but got interrupted by one of Xigbar's darts. He managed to get close and use Reflega to deflect Xigbar's attacks and retaliate, before starting a long aerial combo attack. The others helped, Donald by jumping up and attacking with his staff, and Vanitas firing his sniper rifle. They dodged some more of Xigbar's darts before Sora jumped up and did an aerial combo once more, with Donald and Goofy helping by jumping up and attacking with their weapons, and Vanitas firing his rifle.

Xigbar then teleported over Sora and fired his Arrowguns down, repeating this action a couple of times before he stopped to reload his guns. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped up once more and started attacking again. Vanitas tried to lobe a fireball at Xigbar, but one never appeared in his hand. So, he just kept firing his rifle as Goofy spun around with his shield, Donald whacked his staff, and Sora did another aerial combo.

They kept dodging Xigbar's darts while delivering their own attacks before Xigbar floated so he was right side up over the ground and preparing for the guns to fire a powerful blast. A larger, green, blue, and black dart shot out, and Sora was able to deflect it multiple times at Xigbar. They managed to dodge more of Xigbar's attacks, which included him sending his hands into small portals and them reappearing next to the boys and shooting the guns. Vanitas had to admit, it was impressive.

The area around them then went completely white, and when they could see again, the platform was much smaller, and Xigbar was surrounded in energy that made him invulnerable to their attacks. Vanitas was pissed that his car was suddenly gone, but he brushed it off as they started doing their best to dodge Xigbar's shots. He spun in a circle and fired the darts out, then teleported into various parts of the air and fired more darts, then appeared in the center and got his guns ready, just as Sora ignited Master Form, making Donald and Goofy disappear as it usually does. He and Vanitas then ran in circles around Xigbar as dozens, maybe hundreds of darts followed them.

The area went completely white once more, then the platform was normal sized and the energy faded from Xigbar. But Vanitas's chagrin, his car was still gone.

"Get me back my car, fuck-tard!" Vanitas exclaimed, firing his rifle at Xigbar.

Sora jumped up and started attacking, but then got knocked back a bit as Xigbar sent the larger dart out. He cast Reflega a bunch of times to block the darts and try to retaliate at Xigbar, but then Xigbar appeared at in front of the perch and combined his guns once again. He appeared at the perch and announced once more, "Gotcha now!"

"Oh, shut up!" Vanitas exclaimed.

Holding his rifle by the barrel in his left hand, Vanitas pulled an M79 grenade launcher out of his sling and pointed it one handed at the perch. He fired the grenade, which caused a large explosion that blew apart some of the perch. Xigbar then appeared over the platform with them once more.

"You're no fun..." he pouted.

"And you're an asshole!" Vanitas exclaimed, putting the grenade launcher away and gripping his gun grip once more.

He kept firing while Sora double jumped up to Xigbar, doing lots of damage with his aerial combos with wicked finishers. With that, Xigbar was defeated, ending the fight. And even he was surprised by it, because he exclaimed, "I lost? _Me_?"

Donald and Goofy reappeared as Master Form ended, and the quartet faced off against Xigbar as he faced them in front of the door that led out of the room. He weakly pointed his Arrowgun at them, then dropped it as he fell down onto one knee, looking down.

"Why did you call me Roxas?" Sora demanded.

Xigbar chuckled.

"Wouldn't you like to know..." he said cryptically as lines and thorns appeared around him.

"Hey! hold on!" Sora called out as Xigbar faded away.

"We went over this," Vanitas reminded him as he put away his rifle. "That's not how this works."

"Sora!" Donald said, getting his attention. "It's Kairi!"

They all looked up at the walkway above them to see Kairi still fighting the many Shadows with Riku with their Keyblades.

"Man, your girl can kick ass," Vanitas commented as she slashed through another Shadow.

"Kairi, we're on our way!" Sora announced in determination.

Vanitas pulled out his axe with one hand and his Micro Uzi with the other hand as they went out into the outdoor path up. They fought through Nobodies as they made their way up to the top, and went through the doorway, just as Vanitas had a small vision.

He saw Xemnas at the top part of the castle, excited as hearts flew up to Kingdom Hearts. The man was so excited by it that Vanitas was starting to wonder if it had to do with some kind of sexual fetish. (Then he questioned why the solutions to half of the things he theorized had to do with some kind of sexual fetish.) Saïx then appeared and asked if he could "end this charade," and when Xemnas gave him the okay, he admitted that he had been waiting for that order.

The vision ended just as they exited out into the pathway. They joined the fight with Riku and Kairi, fighting through the Heartless. Vanitas fired the remains of his Uzi at some of the Shadows, taking them out pretty quickly. Pretty soon, the Heartless were all defeated, and they all put away their weapons, breathing in and out. Vanitas was doing his best not to keel over as a sudden powerful wave of exhaustion came over him as he and the rest of the Gummi quartet turned towards Kairi and Riku.

"Kairi, you were great!" Donald praised.

"Oh?" Kairi asked.

She turned towards them and brushed back her hair with an embarrassed chuckle. She and Sora walked towards each other, stopping about two feet in front of each other.

"You are different, Kairi, but I'm just glad you're here!" Sora admitted.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again: puberty did wonders for you two," Vanitas commented.

"You and Riku never came home, so I came looking for you," Kairi told Sora.

"I'm sorry," Sora said, looking down in shame.

But then to his surprise, Kairi rushed forwards and gripped him in a hug.

"This is real..." Kairi said in relief before burying her face in his shoulder.

Sora kept the surprise on his face for a bit before he placed his arms around her and returned her hug.

"Oh, they've got a long way to go..." Vanitas said with a slight smile as Donald and Goofy watched with smirks of their own.

On the other side of the walkway, Riku opened a dark corridor and prepared to leave through it.

"Wait, Ansem!" Sora called out, breaking the hug and stopping Riku in his place. "I mean, Xehanort's Heartless... I never thought for a second that I'd ever see _you_ again. Just thinking about all the things you did makes me really mad. But... But you saved Kairi, right? I have to be grateful for that... Thanks."

"You can be kind of adorable when you're clueless," Vanitas commented.

Riku started walking towards the corridor again, but Kairi ran forwards and grabbed his hand, pullng him back to stop him.

"Riku, don't go!" she insisted.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped at that.

"Huh?" Goofy asked.

"Kairi, what did you just say?" Sora asked.

"Riku," Kairi told them, looking over her shoulder at them.

"I'm no one, just a castaway from the darkness," Riku tried snapping at them with Ansem's voice.

"No, you're not," Vanitas denied, frown on his face. "You're an asshole who did some fucked up shit, and that changed your appearance."

"Sora, come here," Kairi insisted. "Say something to him."

Sora walked over to them and Kairi took one of his hands.

"Here," she said. "You'll understand."

Kairi took both Sora and Riku's hands and placed them together.

"Close your eyes," she told him.

Sora looked up at Riku for a second, and after a bit of reluctance, did exactly that. Vanitas sensed that his brunette friend was seeing in his mind Riku, as he appeared before he changed like this. The three of them stood together, as if they were back on the island. Sora opened up his eyes and looked up at Riku in surprised realization. He took Riku's hand in both of his.

"Riku..." Sora said. During his next words, he kneeled down and looked down. "It's Riku. Riku's here..." He cried as he admitted, "I looked for you!"

"Huh," Vanitas said, frowning. "Awkwardly hugs his girlfriend, breaks down crying for his best friend... This boy makes no sense."

"C'mon, Sora," Riku said in his normal voice. "You've got to pull it together."

"I looked everywhere for you!" Sora exclaimed, looking up at his best friend.

"I didn't want you to find me," Riku admitted.

"But it was him that was helpin' us, wasn't it?" Goofy asked Donald.

"Huh?" Donald asked.

"Those clues we kept finding," Goofy pointed out. "That musta been Riku."

Sora stood up as Riku admitted, "I was starting to worry you guys weren't ever gonna catch on."

"Hey, I knew what half that shit you giving us was before you even gave it to us," Vanitas told him. "Try telling it to these guys, though. With their shared four brain cells, it's hard to get any word in fucking edgewise."

"Makes sense," Riku said. "Sora never did pick the brightest friends."

"What do you mean by that!?" Donald snapped.

"Most of the time when I try to explain something to you guys or make a good choice, you keep reminding me how the first time we met, I lied to you," Vanitas reminded them. "Kind of makes it hard to tell y'all anything. Especially since that's in the damn past."

"All right, that's a good point," Donald admitted, looking down in embarrassment.

"Why didn't you let me know you were okay?" Sora asked Riku.

"I told you," Riku told him. "I didn't want to be found." He looked at his hands. "Not like this... I couldn't. I fought with Ansem, with Xehanort's Heartless... when it invaded my heart, and I won. But to use the power of darkness, I had to become Ansem myself."

"Does that mean... you can't change back?" Kairi asked.

"This battle isn't over," Riku informed her. "And until it is, I still need the power of darkness."

"Then... let's finish it," Sora said with a raised fist in preparation. Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas walked up to them. "You're still Riku, no matter what!"

Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas nodded their heads in agreement, with Vanitas giving the chained teen the finger behind everyone else's backs.

"So how 'bout it," Sora said, turning around to face his shipmates. "Think we can handle one last rumble together? The King's waiting!"

"Yeah!" Donald agreed. "Let's get going!"

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas agreed with a nod of the head.

He then exclaimed in pain and grabbed his side, feeling like his entire left half was on fire.

"You all right?" Sora asked.

"What's wrong with V?" Kairi asked.

"He's been getting random surges of feeling stuff through this entire journey," Goofy explained. "Most of it centered around pain and exhaustion."

Kairi winced as Vanitas checked his watch.

"Shit!" the ravenette exclaimed. "We better hurry. We've only got fifty one minutes!"

"Fifty one minutes until what?" Riku asked.

"We don't know," Sora admitted. "But he set it during a psychic surge. So it's gotta be something important."

"So let's get the lead out!" Vanitas announced, standing up straight again. "I'll mourn the loss of my car later. Now, we've gotta get moving."

They all nodded in agreement and walked down the walkway to the door, ready for whatever was next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Let's be honest, Vanitas would be VERY against fighting one of his best friends again. This is a situation where it'd be better to leave him out. Especially with how the battle is depicted in the Timeline. I think you see what I mean in the battle
> 
> *2 Something that the earlier KH games skipped over: walking through a city or a forest or something takes time. I mean, that's part of the reason III can be so long. The cutscenes, the battles, and the running all over the whole damn world
> 
> *3 The video I'm talking about is The Take Over, The Break's Over. It's kind of odd, kind of cool, everything I love about their music videos
> 
> *4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf5z0P05_NU The song that started playing. Like I said in the Return of the Living Dead story, the movie might've sucked, but I enjoyed their music. And the lead character. Partly 'cause I also liked the actor's performance in Final Destination 2...
> 
> Yeah, if you couldn't tell from the car alone, I'm weird
> 
> *5 I did think that sounded kinda mean when I was a kid. Still think it sounds pretty mean
> 
> Next chapter is the last two Organization XIII member battles before the big guy. God, we're getting so close to the end I'm having trouble containing myself! And as for the timer, you'll get answers next chapter for that as well. Along with everything else that's been going on with Vanitas.


	33. Battling the Organization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group takes on the Organization, then the truth comes out. The full truth...

The group moved on through the castle, with Vanitas giving Kairi a Glock 22 handgun and giving her instructions on how to use it.

"Keep the one in front and the one in back aligned to better your target," Vanitas explained to her. "Only put your finger on the trigger when you're ready to fire. And when you do fire, careful of how loud it is, and how tough the kickback is."

Kairi took a mental note of everything as Vanitas continued to explain to her the basics of using a gun. Pretty soon, they all found themselves in a chamber with twelve marks on the floor with designs of twelve weapons on them. There looked like there were places for stands above the designs on the floor, but most of them were destroyed. The only remaining stands were for the design with the card, and the other design for a claymore, and the card one was the only one active with blue light. High above them was a blocked off exit that led further up the castle.

"Looks like we have to solve this riddle before we can move on," Donald assessed.

They walked up to the stand with the card, seeing that it was a teleporter.

"'The Gambler of Fate'," Sora read off from the ground.

"Oh, no," Vanitas softly muttered to himself as they entered the teleporter.

The group found themselves on a large open aired platform that gave them a good enough view of the night sky. That also let them see Kingdom Hearts high in the air, with a green beam going right into the center of it.

"What's that?" Sora asked.

"It's the King and DiZ..." Riku told him. "I mean, Ansem the Wise."

"Son of a bitch is trying to take back Kingdom Hearts and make it data," Vanitas assessed. "Everything's data to that man."

"They must be higher up," Riku informed them. "We'd better hurry."

They nodded their heads in agreement and started their way back to the teleporter. Sora and Vanitas were ahead of the others, so they turned around in confusion at the sound of darkness surging. That confusion turned into shock as they and their friends watched as Luxord appeared between them with a smirk.

Luxord snapped his fingers, and giant cards appeared all around the other four. Those cards started spinning around, getting faster by the second. He snapped his fingers once more, and the cards floated to the sides, making the four within disappear.

"You!" Sora said in surprise.

"I'd rather we just skip the formalities," Luxord admitted, still smiling.

"Works for me," Vanitas remarked. "Now I'm glad we never became close friends."

Vanitas raised his fists in a fighting stance, feeling this would be enough, while Sora summoned his Keyblade and stood in his battle stance. Luxord then immediately sent out some kind of magic, which turned Sora into a piece of die with his face on one side. That confused Vanitas greatly, but Sora lunged at Luxord, attacking with his changed body. Luxord then gathered magic in front of him, and Sora jumped away to block it.

Vanitas then charged in and punched Luxord in the face. Luxord tried retaliating with the back of his left hand, but Vanitas caught it. He forced the arm back, then punched Luxord twice in a row, once in the chest and once in the face. Then he jumped up and kneed Luxord in the stomach before kicking him away. *** _1_ ***

Luxord then leaped over the area towards Sora, with large cards held up in defense. After a few more seconds, Sora reverted to normal and flipped the cards, dispersing them. Luxord leaped over him once more towards the edge, and Sora started attacking with combos. After getting knocked back, Luxord leaped over Sora again, leaving behind two cards.

While Sora flipped the cards, Luxord crouched down and tried sweeping Vanitas's leg with his own, which Vanitas dodged by jumping up. He landed as Luxord stood up, and the two men spent a few seconds punching at each other and redirecting the punches before Vanitas managed to grab Luxord's wrist and turn it hard as he forced the man behind him. He back kicked Luxord in the... back, and knocked him away. But Luxord managed to get his wrist out of Vanitas's hand before the kick, so it didn't do that much damage to the arm.

Sora then got close to Luxord again and started his combo attacks once more before dodging as Luxord attacked with more cards. Luxord then requested a challenge, which Sora accepted. Vanitas didn't understand it, but four cards appeared behind Luxord, some of them X's, and an O switching among them. Sora gestured with his arm and the O froze, knocking back Luxord and releasing the green orbs that replenished health that Heartless sometimes dropped.

After Sora attacked him with another combo attack, Luxord leaped back and suggested they look closely. That was because he turned himself to a card and had two cards next to him. They shuffled around on the ground before raising up. Vanitas picked out the Luxord card and flipped it, so Sora attacked the blonde with a combo attack. Luxord tried this two more times, making even more cards appear each time. Both the following times, they found him and attacked him, Vanitas with a few kicks, and Sora with another combo attack.

They then spammed the next few attacks. Luxord sent out cards, they dodged them, he leaped through the air, Sora attacked him with aerial combos without the finishers, and once he landed on the ground, Vanitas would engage in hand to hand combat, which the blonde lost. They did this a few times before Luxord appeared in front of the teleporter, taunting about being on top of the game. He sent out cards, which ended up covering a good amount of the ground.

The doppelgängers had to work hard to dodge the cards that were traps as Luxord floated after them just above the ground, doing lots of attacks with cards close to him. After a little while of this happening, Sora and Vanitas were surprised when they were surrounded by the giant cards with Luxord in front of them, with the blonde asking if they knew the rules. Vanitas didn't understand how this worked, either, but Sora threw out a hand quickly. The cards flew into his own hand and he sent them against Luxord, where they did significant damage and forced the man back.

"Maybe I should teach you poker," Vanitas commented as they watched Luxord recover.

His Keyblade back in hand, Sora charged at Luxord as the blonde man surrounded himself in cards in defense. But Sora slashed through them easily, finding himself on the other side of Luxord. The cards disappeared in shards of darkness, and the blonde man fell to one knee.

"How could you... Roxas..." Luxord said, weakly looking back at Sora.

"That's _Sora_!" Sora snapped.

That didn't entirely matter, because lines and thorns appeared over Luxord as he faded away, pretty quickly. The two friends then turned to look behind Sora as the giant cards reappeared and crossed through the air, making the other four reappear.

"You guys okay?" Kairi asked as the four of them walked forwards.

"Yeah!" Sora assured her. "No worries."

"I'm just glad I'm still good at hand to hand," Vanitas admitted. "My last fight with Xemnas had me a little worried."

"Let's keep moving," Sora announced, turning to face the teleporter with them.

They went back through the teleporter, re-entering the room with the marks on the floor. They looked towards the one with the claymore to see the teleporter now active. They walked over towards it.

"'The Luna Diviner'," Sora read.

"This guy won't be that hard," Vanitas commented, remembering the previous two times he had fought Saïx.

They went through the teleporter and down a curved hallway that led into a rectangular room. There was blue and green energy around the giant window of the back wall, but it didn't eclipse the very clear view of the moon of Kingdom Hearts.

As they entered the room, they found Saïx staring up at said moon. He turned towards them and smiled.

"Only you could have made it this far in once piece... Roxas," Saïx told them.

"That's really getting old!" Sora complained.

Donald and Goofy stepped in front of Sora and held out their arms in defense.

"Yeah, he's Sora!" Donald snapped.

"Hell, yeah, he is," Vanitas said, knowing himself that Roxas was his own person.

Saïx said nothing at that. He just continued smiling and raised his claymore to show it to them. His Berserk energy suddenly flashed over it, adding the extra spikes around the end. Saïx then twirled his claymore around so he was holding it backhanded.

"Different name, same fate," he simply told them.

Saïx then swung his claymore, the Lunatic, at them, releasing a powerful wind. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas exclaimed as they held up their weapons to block the wind, while Riku threw himself in front of Kairi to block her. The winds pushed him out of the rectangular room and into the attached hallway, and an attached barrier came up. The Gummi quartet stood together in their battle stances, Vanitas with his sledgehammer, as Saïx held the Lunatic. *** _2_ ***

"Do you feel it?" Saïx asked. "The moon's power?"

He immediately floated up and ignited Berserk Mode, even though Donald tried blasting him with Thunder. They dodged as Saïx slammed the Lunatic into the ground and released shockwaves of blue flames, then threw it to the ground before summoning a duplicate. Sora then grabbed the claymore that Saïx had thrown and floated up in the air with it in his hands. The group did their best to dodge Saïx's next slams and bursts of blue flames, not always successfully. Sora then did the many attacks with Saïx's own weapon against him, pretty similar to when they fought Berserker Nobodies. Saïx was knocked back, and his Berserker mode ended.

Donald repeatedly blasted Blizzard, Goofy spun around with his shield or attacked directly with it, Vanitas swung his sledgehammer, and Sora blocked Saïx's attempted attacks of lunging forwards before retaliating with a full combo. They did this for a little while before Saïx floated up once more. Donald was about to jump up to attack with his staff, but Vanitas pulled him to the ground as Saïx ignited Berserk, remembering how the energy surrounding him had hurt Roxas before.

Saïx reached the ground and looked at Vanitas in anger.

"You have been getting in the way for so long!" he bellowed.

"Thanks," Vanitas said. "It's my specialty."

He then started to back flip out of the way as Saïx started directing his attacks towards him. Luckily, during this, he had thrown down one copy of the Lunatic, which Sora used to break him out of Berserk again. Saïx tried lunging forwards with the Lunatic once more, and Sora used Reflaga to knock it out of his hand. Vanitas caught the Lunatic after discarding his sledgehammer and swung it against Saïx, doing quite a bit of damage. The copy disappeared from his hand soon after as the real one appeared in Saïx's hand once more. They kept up their attacks, Sora blocking Saïx's attacks before retaliating with a full combo, Donald spamming Blizzard, Goofy sliding around on his shield like a sleigh in an attack, and Vanitas doing some more hand to hand stuff, before Saïx floated up into Berserk again.

This time, he exclaimed, "All shall be lost to you!" before he started sliding over the ground and slamming the Lunatic many times, causing shockwaves and sending out lots of bursts of blue flames. Sora ignited Final Form to protect Donald and Goofy, and glided around dodging as Saïx kept doing these attacks. Once Saïx once again ended the attacks by slamming the Lunatic into the ground, Vanitas grabbed it and swung it at the blue haired man hard, breaking out the Berserk. Sora then ended Final Form on his own and they charged at Saïx one last time, doing all of their attacks until they had beaten the man, making him utter, "My heart... If I had a heart..."

The group stood together in front of Saïx once more as the blue haired man weakly stepped back from them. He released the Lunatic, and it clattered on the ground before disappearing. Saïx then weakly turned from them and walked up to the window, staring out in desperation at the moon of Kingdom Hearts.

"Why..." he said. "Kingdom Hearts... Where is my heart?"

Saïx reached out for Kingdom Hearts as thorns and black smoke rose from his body. Within seconds, Saïx had faded away back into darkness.

After the fight had ended, the barrier had fallen, so Riku and Kairi had walked over to join them once more. Sora turned around to face Riku with confusion.

"I don't get it," Sora said. "Why's everybody been calling me Roxas?"

"Because, Sora," Riku told him. "Roxas is your Nobody."

"My... Nobody?" Sora asked in shock as Vanitas looked down in sadness, remembering and missing his friend. "But that's crazy. I never turned into a Heart..." Then he remembered. "Oh, right."

"It was when you came to rescue me, remember?" Kairi reminded him.

"Xemnas was the one who found Roxas," Riku told them. "He could use the Keyblade because he was your Nobody. V knows all this." He looked at the ravenette, who was still looking down in sadness. "I guess he doesn't care that much about you guys, 'cause otherwise he would've told you."

Vanitas immediately looked up and charged at Riku, anger on his face. Riku looked down at the ravenette in surprise as he stopped in front of him.

"You wanna know why I never said anything to them over the course of this whole damn journey?" he growled out, not even bothering to try to hide his cracked voice or his anger. "Because you're part of the reason he's gone. So don't you dare say I don't care about my friends, you son of a bitch."

"You're right," Riku said, looking down. "I thought if you shared the blame, it would lesson my guilt. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean, 'part of the reason he's gone'?" Sora asked, frowning in confusion.

Vanitas looked over his shoulder at his brunette lookalike.

"First thing you gotta know is that Roxas wasn't the only Nobody of you," Vanitas informed them. "The Organization used their scientist to make a Replica, an empty shell with whom to put a heart into, that didn't even have a face. That Replica was called No. i, and with their rules of naming, they made their Organization name into an anagram with the letter X added. No. i became Xion."

Riku looked up in surprise, not even knowing this stuff himself.

"Last year, we went to a place called Castle Oblivion," Vanitas continued. "There, we ran into Organization members who made Naminé tear apart your memories for their own purpose. It's why you three spent a year in comas while she reconstructed them. But when she was forced to take away your memories, some of them got away, and found their way into Xion. Specifically, your memories of Kairi. And with that, Xion changed. _It_ became _her_. And she looked exactly like Kairi but with black hair. At least, to me and Roxas. Apparently, her appearance was different to everyone who saw her."

Everyone was surprised and amazed at Vanitas's tale, wanting to know more about this stuff.

"Like Roxas, she could use the Keyblade," Vanitas continued. "And I became friends with the two of them and Axel. We sat up on top of that clock tower in Twilight Town after every mission of fighting Heartless together and ate Sea Salt ice cream, laughing like idiots. But I could see... Roxas and Xion, they were growing feelings for each other, even if they didn't know what feelings were. By the end, it was obvious that they cared for each other in the same way Sora and Kairi care for each other but are too chicken to admit, yet."

Sora and Kairi went wide eyed and stared at each other, knowing exactly what Vanitas was talking about.

"What happened to Xion?" Kairi asked.

"They didn't make her because they wanted another member," Vanitas admitted. "They made her to absorb Roxas's powers and replicate them, to try to make her into a complete Sora clone. It took months before that would start happening, but before that happened, Riku decided to intervene..."

He looked up angrily at the changed teen, who looked down in shame, suddenly remembering exactly what Vanitas was referring to.

"First, he fought her and beat her pretty bad," Vanitas continued. "He and DiZ shared the same thought about the Nobodies, even if these ones were unknowing observants that were just with them that didn't know what else to do: they felt the Nobodies all had to be destroyed. And that led to some disagreements between us. Which is what actually led to the destruction of my SHILED jacket. Riku beating Xion made her question her self worth, especially since he called her a sham. So, after a while, she questioned her existence, and went searching at Castle Oblivion, the place the Organization constructed her."

"Roxas wasn't that happy about it," Vanitas admitted. "She kind of left without saying where she was going, and he was worried about her. During this, Riku searched for a way to wake you up, ended up learning an unfortunate truth. The only way for you to wake back up and get back the memories they unknowingly took from you... was for them both to go away."

"He caught up with Xion on the Destiny Islands," Vanitas continued, looking up at Riku in an accusing manner. "And he basically encouraged her to kill herself. (sighs) Xion was soon pulled back into the Organization by Axel, and that's when she started unknowingly draining Roxas's powers. Pretty soon, she ran away again, and Xemnas filled the rest of the Organization in on the whole plan of the Replica, leaving out the part she was draining Roxas. Roxas soon began to question about himself, and left the Organization. I helped him fight Saïx, and we left for Twilight Town, using the back door I mentioned."

"Then, Xion went to find Naminé under Riku's instructions," Vanitas continued. "She decided it was time to go back to Sora, and Naminé explained something about the plan. For it to work, she'd not only be getting rid of Xion, but the memory of Xion, as well. Everyone who knew her would forget about her. She accepted that, because she'd rather that happen then hurt Roxas anymore. But then Axel showed up and dragged her back to the Organization again, just as the process was nearing completion."

There were confused expressions at that, so Vanitas breathed in and out, knowing he'd have to tell them one of the worst parts.

"Roxas and I went to the clock tower, where we were soon met up with by Xion," he continued. "She pulled back her hood, and showed that she looked like Sora did during our last journey. The only thing that was left for her to do was to take what else Roxas had to give. Darkness surged around her, and I ended up falling off that clock tower. I was forced to watch an enlarged, armored Xion attack Roxas."

He gulped.

"Roxas had no choice to fight back," Vanitas continued, his voice cracking as he looked down and closed his eyes. "It killed him the whole time, but he kept fighting. He had to deliver the final blow. Darkness surged, returning her to normal, but like Naminé said... the memory of her was gone from Roxas's mind... He held her in his arms as she faded away, begging us to undo her mistakes and free Kingdom Hearts."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy were jaw dropped with sad expressions, Kairi was covering her mouth with tears growing in her eyes, and Riku looked down in shame.

"It was right before she finished fading that he remembered her," Vanitas continued, his voice cracked. "And he begged her not to go. But there was nothing any of us could do. She faded away, and it devastated us. It's why I punched that ground in Station Heights. When that happened, Roxas then grew a new, desperate mission: fight through the Organization, and fulfill her dying wish to release Kingdom Hearts. He had a blind idea that it would lead him to Sora so he could get Xion back. I would've called bullshit, but I'm not the kind of guy to argue with a man who just lost someone he loved."

"We fought through all kinds of Shadows and Neoshadows as we went through the World That Never Was," Vanitas continued. "And I lagged behind to take the rest out while Roxas moved on to the skyscraper. But then DiZ ambushed me. He needed you awake so you could take out Xemnas as part of his revenge against Xehanort, so he drugged me and downed me with one of my sleeping potions to stop me from interfering."

He looked up at Riku, who was still looking down in shame.

"Riku and Roxas fought Keyblade to Keyblade in front of that tower," Vanitas continued. "Riku lost... twice. So, he gave into the darkness to make himself the stronger adversary, doing this to himself and knocking out Roxas. And with that, he forgot Xion completely. He forgot everything about the girl he loved." He paused to try to recompose himself. "Riku and Ansem the Wise took Roxas to their base in Twilight Town and put him in the simulated Twilight Town while Naminé finished her work. I caught up on the last day, and fought against Riku again, 'cause I was desperate to not lose anymore friends. That was when I shot him, and moved on. But he begged me to promise not to say anything about this to you. And I agreed, 'cause like I said, I didn't want you to have to see your best friend in a different light. The kind of guy who would do _this_ much to help you."

Riku still looked down in shame, while the others kept their sad expressions, Kairi crying slightly.

"What..." Donald said, tearing up. "What happened to Roxas?"

"He slowly got back his memories," Vanitas continued. "And ended up having to fight Axel in the digital town, who was ordered to bring back Roxas. Roxas won, and encountered you as you slept. He accepted that it was his time, and he returned to Sora."

Vanitas looked down in sadness, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy now understood the turmoil their friend had been through during this journey. The nightmares, the quietness, it was all because he was grieving the loss of two really good friends. The ravenette looked up at Riku, who was still looking down in shame.

"That's why I never said anything," Vanitas said. "But... I know that you had a change of heart." Riku looked up. "I saw that you had changed your mind about wanting to destroy them, and you wanted to find another way, as well. But unfortunately, there wasn't. All we could do was let all that play out, and it sucked." *** _3_ ***

Riku nodded his head in agreement.

"You did kind of shitty things to Roxas and Xion," Vanitas said. "But you regretted doing them, and wished their was another way out." He held out a hand to Riku. "I forgive you."

Riku looked at Vanitas with an expression of gratitude, and took the ravenette's hand.

"Ansem the Wise might be another story," Vanitas admitted.

"As to be expected," Riku commented.

Sora and Kairi smiled through the fallen tears of the tale as they saw the peace made between the two.

Vanitas then exclaimed in pain and gripped his side, falling forwards slightly.

"Another surge?" Kairi asked.

"A big one, at that," Vanitas admitted. He checked his watch. "We gotta move. We've only got twelve more minutes."

"Let's go," Riku announced.

They turned back to the hallway and walked back to the teleported. The way was clear and they went up the steps. They soon found themselves on another outdoor walkway, and Ansem the Wise was using his machine against Kingdom Hearts, with Mickey watching in shock.

"Run, my friend!" Ansem suggested as they got closer. "It's going to self destruct, and anything could happen!"

"But..." Mickey said.

"Your Majesty!" Sora called out as they got closer.

"Sora, Vanitas, the rest is up to you..." Ansem told them. He looked down in sadness. "And Roxas, I doubt you can hear me, but... I am sorry."

"You'll be even more sorry when I kick your ass!" Vanitas exclaimed.

He stepped closer to his former master, then exclaimed as he got a surge of pain even greater, making him grip his sides. The pain grew in his chest, and he started coughing violently. Vanitas covered his hand with his mouth as he coughed, for a good few seconds.

"You all right?" Mickey asked as Vanitas stopped coughing.

He was about to answer, when he saw blood on his gloved hand. He had coughed up his own blood. That was when Vanitas started putting things together. It felt like a lightbulb had turned on over his head, because he suddenly realized what it all meant.

"Oh..." Vanitas said, now feeling like an idiot for not figuring it out sooner. "Now I get it... I understand what's wrong with me."

"You do!?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy all simultaneously, eagerly asked.

"Yeah..." Vanitas said. He fell onto his knees. "I'm dying!"

"What!?" Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey all said simultaneously.

Donald and Mickey rushed forwards to help keep Vanitas up on his knees, just as he was starting to fall forwards. Sora kneeled down on one knee in front of Vanitas and looked at him in worry.

"What do you mean, you're dying?" Sora asked urgently.

"It's like Nova Prime said," Vanitas said, wincing and coughing in pain. "Whatever the hell is keeping me alive is waning. With it wearing off, there'll be nothing left helping me, and my heart is still dead. (groans) I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out. The pain is part of what's keeping me alive waning. It's almost completely gone. And once it is... I drop."

"Wh-what about the timer?" Sora asked.

Vanitas looked at his watch, seeing that there was only five and a half minutes.

"That's how much time I have left," he said in realization. "I set up a timer to my death."

He breathed out and made a face.

"That is _dark_!" Vanitas exclaimed, before looking up. "What the hell, Kyle!?" *** _4_ ***

"There... there has to be something we can do!" Sora exclaimed, desperately.

"Can't Curaga work?" Donald asked.

"Curaga is strong, but not _that_ strong," Mickey said. "Not enough to restart a heart."

"There might be a solution..." Ansem told them.

But before he could tell them what it was, darkness surged next to him, making Xemnas appear.

"I was wondering who would dare interfere with my Kingdom Hearts," he commented before turning to look at the group. "And look, here you all are. How convenient for me."

Even from his position, weak on the ground, Vanitas still gave Xemnas the finger.

"Ansem the Wise... Vanitas..." Xemnas said. "You look pathetic."

"Dude, if I wasn't dying, I'd be kicking your ass!" Vanitas exclaimed, weakly.

"Have your laugh," Ansem the Wise simply told Xemnas, still operating the malfunctioning machine. "I deserve as much for failing to see you for the fool you are."

"Students _do_ take after their teachers," Xemnas commented. "Only a fool would be your apprentice. Just look at the black haired moron over there dying."

"This is really gonna be the last thing I hear?" Vanitas asked, annoyed.

"Don't say that!" Sora told the ravenette.

"After all, none of this would have happened without you," Xemnas added. " _You_ are the source of all Heartless. It was your research that inspired me to go further than you ever dared."

Vanitas wanted to tell off Xemnas, but instead he just coughed up a bit more blood, which fell to the ground.

"I admit... my disregard brought chaos to more worlds than one," Ansem the Wise said. "But what were _you_ seeking? You erased me from the world, only to take my name and continue research better left forgotten... Is this the answer you've been looking for?"

"All that and more," Xemnas admitted. "I'm carrying on what you yourself began, and I'm creating a brand new world, one heart at a time. I thought you'd praise me, but all you ever do is hold me back. I understand, though. Unlike me, you have a heart. And you're powerless to control it. Consumed, by the jealousy you feel toward the student who surpassed you."

"Xehanort," Ansem the Wise said. "Foolish apprentice of a foolish man. You have surpassed nothing; only proved how little we both know. We may profess to know the heart, but its essence is beyond our reach. We're both ignorant... as oblivious as when we began. I'm afraid that any world _you_ try to create..."

He looked over his shoulder at Xemnas.

"Any world of yours... would be an empire of ignorance," Ansem the Wise taunted. "That is why you and your creation are destined to fall!"

"One of the last things I hear is my former master doing a pretty decent burn..." Vanitas croaked out. "I'm okay with that..."

"We've said enough!" Ansem the Wise said, looking back down at the machine in his hands before looking up at Riku. "Riku, you know what to do!"

He looked down at Mickey and Vanitas.

"King Mickey, Vanitas, my friends, forgive me!" Ansem the Wise begged before looking forwards. "Farewell!"

Light gathered from the machine, growing up in the air. Sora, Donald, and Goofy tried rushing forwards, but Riku held out his arms to stop them. The light gathered into a mini explosion that rose up in the air, looking like a mini tornado. They all looked towards the explosion once more, wide eyed and jaws dropped. Vanitas winced, preparing himself, but was then surprised as the light grew. They all covered their eyes as the light grew and soon encased them, blinding them all and knocking them unconscious.

* * *

The explosion was so big that it damaged Kingdom Hearts, sending out thousands of hearts down towards the city. Dusks gathered in the streets and jumped around, swinging their arms to try to catch them. Then Vanitas's red Mustang fell through the air and crushed some of them, blaring the horn loudly from the damage.

More hearts fell down into the giant pit under the castle, and when the hearts hit the sides of the pit, they turned into Shadows forming an army as they started climbing back up, towards the cliff.

* * *

On the outdoor walkway, the group was all sprawled out on the ground unconscious, with Riku back in his appearance of a silver haired teen boy with a blindfold over his eyes. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Kairi started pushing themselves up as they awoke, and Sora's jaw dropped at the sight of his friend returned to normal.

"Riku?" he called out.

Sora stood up and ran over to kneel down next to Riku as he woke up and winced as he started pushing himself up.

"Riku!" Sora exclaimed in relief.

Riku slowly pushed himself up onto his knees, and the group exclaimed in amazed relief that he was back to normal.

"Riku!" Kairi cheered.

Riku was surprised and confused at the same time, so he looked at Mickey.

"Ansem did say 'anything could happen'..." Mickey reminded them.

They all stood up and stared at where Ansem the Wise and the machine were, seeing that said man was gone. Sora's attention was then drawn to the ground nearby, where the still unconscious Vanitas was against the railing, his left hand over his chest.

"V...?" Sora called out in worry.

He, Donald and Goofy moved to Vanitas and kneeled down next to the still downed Vanitas, somber expressions on their faces.

"V?" Donald asked, his voice cracking.

"Vanitas!" Goofy called out, desperately.

Kairi covered her mouth with her hands again and felt tears running down her cheeks. Mickey gasped in realization and looked down sadly, barely believing this was happening. Riku looked down somberly, sad that he had lost someone he was just becoming friends with.

Sora felt tears run down his cheeks as he placed a hand on Vanitas's left shoulder.

"V..." he said somberly.

Then, to their surprised relief, Vanitas suddenly gasped awake and started coughing with his eyes still closed.

"V!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy exclaimed in happy unison.

"Well, hot dog!" Mickey cheered, swinging a fist in relief.

"Oh, thank god," Riku said.

"He's okay!" Kairi cheered.

Vanitas winced as he placed his right hand on his forehead and slowly started pushing himself up. Sora, Donald, and Goofy smiled at their friend as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, holding himself up with his other hand.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked.

Vanitas groaned out in pain and admitted, "I feel like hell."

And everyone stared at him with wide eyes of surprise.

After spending so much time around Vanitas, they had grown used to the very deep voice he had. It was one of the things they used most to tell the difference between him and Sora, not just hair and eye color and the scar. But now... his voice was different. It sounded as if it was that of a normal teenager, just a little deeper than Sora's, with little cracks to higher pitches.

"My head is killing me..." Vanitas said, hand still on his forehead. "My throat feels like it had sandpaper dragged through it, my arms and legs are exhausted, my chest hurts, and I am _starving_."

He lowered his hand from his head and opened his eyes as he looked at his still surprised friends.

"Um, V..." Donald started with uncertainty. "Don't you notice something... odd about your voice?"

"What about it?" Vanitas asked in confusion. He then gasped in realization as he noticed it, raising his hand in front of his chin. Curious, he decided to do a test. " _Where is your boy tonight, I hope he is a gentleman..._ "

He looked at his friends in equal wide eyed in surprise.

"I don't sound like a porn star anymore!" Vanitas announced.

He winced as he stood up with his friends, then widened his eyes in realization once more.

"I feel like hell," Vanitas repeated his words. "I actually felt that stuff I said..."

They all went wide eyed, realization coming over them. With one final test, Vanitas removed one of his gloves and pulled out a Beretta 92F handgun with his opposite hand. He pointed the handgun at the palm of his bare hand and fired, then exclaimed in pain as a hole burst out of the opposite side, spewing blood.

"Dah! Fuck!" Vanitas exclaimed, dropping the handgun and gripping the hole in his hand to apply pressure and lower the blood loss. He then looked up at Riku, only a little surprised to see the silver haired boy back to normal. "Is that what I did to you that time?"

Riku winced but nodded his head. Then Vanitas went wide eyed and stared with his friends at his hand.

"This is actually bleeding..." he said in amazement. He looked up at his friends. "'Anything could happen'... That son of a bitch gave me back my life force..."

Vanitas laughed with his friends, and relieved tears slid down his cheeks. After all this time, after everything he had been through, it had finally happened.

"I have never been so happy to feel this much pain," Vanitas admitted.

Donald took out his staff and cast Curaga. The green magic surged around Vanitas, and he winced as he felt (Yes!) the hole closing in his hand. He gripped his hand into a fist, and smiled down at it.

"Finally!" he said in relief, looking up in ecstasy.

Sora smiled at Vanitas before looking at Riku, who was still staring out with his blindfold.

"Riku, you gonna take that off?" he asked.

"Oh..." Riku said in remembrance.

Vanitas rolled his shoulder, happy to feel once again, as Riku slipped off his blindfold, revealing his teal eyes to them.

"What was that?" Sora asked.

Mickey walked up to the boys, and they turned to face him.

"His eyes couldn't lie," Mickey answered for Riku.

"Lie?" Sora asked. He looked at Riku and placed his hands on his hips. "And just who were you trying to fool? Huh? Huhh?"

"Myself," Riku admitted, making the smirk disappear from Sora's face. "V himself told you about the stuff I've done."

"Riku..." Sora said. "C'mon, man! Why did you try to do so much on your own?"

Sora ran and stood in front of the others as they all looked at Riku.

"You've got friends... like us!" he assured him.

Riku looked over them all. They all smiled in assurance while Goofy scratched under his nose, Donald crossed his arms, Mickey nodded his head, Kairi did the same, Vanitas popped a shoulder bone, and Sora nodded his head as well.

Riku walked up to Sora and asked, "Have you forgotten?"

"I'll tell you why," Riku continued. He smirked. "'Cause I'm not a total sap like you."

"Say that again!" Sora snapped.

"You might have some competition," Vanitas quipped to Kairi with a smirk.

Their attentions were then drawn to Kingdom Hearts. There was a giant hole in the middle of it, with pink light glowing in the middle as hearts still gathered towards the moon.

"Uhhh-oh!" Donald exclaimed.

"That is very, very not good!" Vanitas commented.

They rushed to where Ansem had stood and looked down over the railing to the castle wall below them. The Shadows were climbing up the walls towards them, advancing quickly.

"What should we do, Riku?" Sora asked.

"We must defeat Xemnas," Riku announced. "He's the Organization's last survivor."

"Right!" Sora agreed.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas agreed. "And with my life force back, that means all my powers are back too. That means I can kick some ass!"

He swung his arms out in preparation, but then Goofy suddenly flew to the wall and crashed into it. The dog winced in pain, and Vanitas looked on in embarrassment. Curious, he then looked down at the Beretta he dropped and pointed his hand at it, concentrating. All that happened was the gun shook a bit, but nothing else happened.

"Uh... it looks like that while I have my powers back, I don't exactly remember how to use 'em," Vanitas said in embarrassment. "Sorry, Goof!"

"They'll come back to you," Sora assured him.

"Agreed," Vanitas said, giving a Potion to Goofy. "So let's get goin'."

He winced as he felt a vision coming on, and once it ended, he gasped in surprise.

Riku then pulled off his dark cloak and showed them the clothes he wore underneath.

"C'mon!" Riku agreed, with Sora also nodding his head.

Their attentions were then drawn to Vanitas, who was staring forwards in shock.

"V, what's wrong?" Sora asked. "If you're still surprised about having back your life force, I'm sure you'll..."

"All the Organization XIII members and Nobodies that look like people have hearts," Vanitas interrupted, looking over at his friends again.

Everyone went wide eyed at that.

"What?" Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Sora all asked simultaneously.

"When they join the Organization, they start out without hearts," Vanitas admitted. "But Xemnas never told them the rest of the truth. As time goes on, they grow their hearts back, but he uses some spell to make sure they never notice it themselves. Every Nobody we've fought or faded into darkness, Axel, Roxas, Xion, Xigbar, Demyx, Luxord, Vexen, they all had hearts the last time we saw them."

That surprised everyone so much they dropped their jaws. But then that shock changed into confusion.

"But if they're not using Kingdom Hearts to give themselves hearts..." Sora started.

"Then what the hell does Xemnas want with Kingdom Hearts?" Riku asked.

"Let's go ask him, ourselves," Vanitas said, looking up at the steps that led up, and the others nodded in agreement. _***5***_

They started making their way up the walkway, going after Xemnas, while the cloak flew in the winds above them, going who knows where.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 We haven't had that much hand to hand combat lately
> 
> *2 I checked the wiki and found that Saïx's claymore is called the Lunatic, so I decided it was time to use that
> 
> *3 I've had this speech planned since... pretty much the end of the Days story. I went over it in my head about a thousand times before I figured out the right way to format it. I feel I did a pretty good job. And of course Vanitas is gonna forgive Riku for all that. He didn't want to have to do that stuff by the end of it, and he felt bad. That's enough to sate the small amounts of vengeance in Vanitas
> 
> *4 I'm Kyle
> 
> *5 I was so excited to get the chapter finished, I forgot to add this bit. Fixed it!
> 
> Did any of you think for a second that Vanitas might've actually died? I figure that might not have happened since I promised that there's still a lot to be told involving him. Then again, people have lied. The Russo brothers said only 2 of the original six Avengers were gonna survive Endgame, and that didn't happen. Then again, I always keep my promises
> 
> Ah, it felt so good to give Vanitas his life force back. Like I mentioned, Celene the Angel figured out that this'd be the situation back in the Days story, so I just hope it was at least a surprise that that was when it'd happen to some people


	34. Siege Against Xemnas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Riku and Vanitas revived, the group goes after Xemnas...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention last chapter, but in terms of Vanitas's voice change, I did consider waiting until he got his memories back to change it back to how it was in Birth By Sleep.
> 
> But then I realized that wouldn't have made any damn sense, so I decided to do it after he got his life force, when things change significantly. That makes him normal voiced again about three stories earlier than the original plan.

The group moved on into what was pretty accurately a final stretch. They went up the platforms that appeared under their feet as they fought through Nobodies. Sora used his Kingdom Key, Mickey used his Kingdom Key D, Riku used his Way to the Dawn, Donald used his staff, Goofy used his shield, Vanitas alternated between sledgehammer and .44 magnum revolver, and since her Keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, wouldn't reappear, Kairi fired the handguns Vanitas gave her. She was a surprisingly good shot.

They fought through the Nobodies as they reached the highest point and ran towards the doorway that would take them closer to Xemnas.

"Sora! Riku! V!" Kairi called out, stopping the trio closest to the doorway.

They looked back at her to see her pointing at the open rafters high in the air. Shadows started spilling out of them and landing on the walkway they had just taken. The Shadows gathered together, nearly covering the pathway floor as they slowly followed after them.

"I don't think I have enough immediate ammo," Vanitas commented as they all ran to join Kairi at looking down at the massive numbers of Shadows below them. "And we don't have enough energy to fight this many numbers _and_ Xemnas."

"There's gonna be no end to this," Riku said.

"I'm sure together we can stop them!" Sora announced, smiling at Riku and Vanitas.

"I hope you're right," Vanitas admitted as he and Riku smiled at the brunette.

Then, to all their surprises, dark energy surged in front of them, making Maleficent and Pete appear.

"Be gone from here!" Maleficent instructed. "Leave these creatures to us!"

"But there's no way we can take 'em all!" Pete told her.

"I will be sending them after Xemnas," Maleficent said, gesturing to the group. "Or, perhaps, you would rather fight them yourself?"

Pete put a hand to his chin in thought.

"Frankly, my dear, I'd rather _RUN!!!_ " Pete admitted, fear in his voice.

"That's a new take on that phrase," Vanitas commented.

"Off with you then!" Maleficent snapped at Pete.

He backed away from Maleficent and looked down, finding himself face to face with Mickey.

"Well, if it ain't the boat-boy king," Pete said.

"Time to weigh anchor, Captain Pete!" Mickey told him.

"What, like 'abandon ship'?" Pete asked. "I don't think so!"

"Sora! Vanitas! 'Your Majesty'!" Maleficent told them. "Do not forget, when I've destroyed them all, this castle shall be mine!"

Maleficent raised her arms to gesture out at the castle to emphasize her point.

' _How_ _cute_.' Vanitas thought. ' _She thinks she's still a main antagonist_.'

"Now lookie here," Pete told Mickey. "Opportunities like this don't come along every day, you know."

Pete ran up next to Maleficent, and the two stood ready to fight.

"Bring 'em on!" Pete announced before they started running towards the many, many Shadows below.

"We gotta hurry," Mickey announced.

"But..." Sora said, looking down at the mouse.

"They're doing what their hearts command," Mickey told Sora. "We can't interfere."

"It's not our fight," Vanitas agreed. "Our fight is up there..."

They moved on through the doorway and up the stairs, finding themselves outside once more. They went up the remaining stairs all the way up to the highest point of the castle, where they found Xemnas standing at an edge and staring out at the broken Kingdom Hearts above him.

"Oh... my Kingdom Hearts... ruined," Xemnas said in despair. "Now I'll have to start all over again." He lowered his arms. "Warriors of the Keyblade!

He turned towards the group.

"Go forth, and bring me more hearts!" Xemnas ordered.

"No!" Sora, Riku, and Mickey exclaimed simultaneously as they summoned their Keyblades and pointed them at the man.

"You're dumber than I thought if you really think we're gonna help you do that," Vanitas said, sliding the Beretta out once more.

"Denizens of light, answer this," Xemnas requested. "Why do you hate the darkness?"

"Aw, we don't hate it," Mickey told him. "It's just kinda... scary. But the world's made of light _and_ darkness. You can't have one without the other, 'cause darkness is half of everything."

"Something my Keyblade Master forgot," Vanitas commented, remembering some dreams he had with a man with a Keyblade.

"Sorta makes you wonder why we are scared of the dark," Mickey admitted, looking down.

"It's because of who's lurking inside it," Riku pointed out.

"Then allow me another question," Xemnas requested. "You accept darkness, yet choose to live in the light. So why is it that you loathe us who teeter on the edge of nothing? We who were turned away by both light and dark... never given a choice?"

"That's simple," Riku pointed out. "It's because you mess up our worlds."

"Yeah," Vanitas agreed. "Ones like Axel, Roxas, and Xion, they were good people that just fought Heartless. Roxas even helped me help Captain America save millions of people on Earth 616. You, on the other hand, are an asshole."

"That may be..." Xemnas admitted, agreeing with both Riku and Vanitas. "However, what other choice might we have had?"

"You made that choice already!" Sora pointed out. "When you hid from the other members that they can grow back their hearts!" Xemnas looked surprised that he knew that part. "If anybody fits the description of 'Nobody', it's you! You're not sad about anything!"

Xemnas laughed.

"Very good," he congratulated them. "You're better than you appear. You don't miss a thing. I gave up being to feel sorrow... No matter what misery befalls the worlds. No matter what you think, what you feel, or how you exist."

"You really are a sick asshole," Vanitas remarked.

Xemnas then raised his arms, and blue lights started flying up, making the area around the castle top they were in go light. Sora and Vanitas covered their eyes to block the light as the light kept glowing.

When they could see again, they were standing on a small part of earth floating over a illusions of the city around them, with the Memory Skyscraper high in front of them, and Xemnas standing between them and the skyscraper.

"Guys?" Sora called out, seeing that he and Vanitas were the only ones there.

"We can take this guy," Vanitas assured him.

They stood together, Sora with his Keyblade and Vanitas with his machete, against Xemnas.

Xemnas then surrounded himself in a ball of darkness that surged behind them. He set a curse both the boys before sliding the ball over the fountain and disappeared, telling them to come closer. The doppelgängers ran up on top of the fountain and broke through the curse before looking up the skyscraper to see Xemnas at the top. Following Roxas's example, they climbed and leaped over the awning and ran up the wall towards Xemnas. Xemnas backflipped off and leaped towards them at the same time they leaped at him. Sora blocked one of Xemnas's Ethereal Blades, and Vanitas went over the silver haired man, kicking him in the stomach. Sora then twirled around Xemnas and knocked him back, making him fall to the ground.

Sora and Vanitas landed at the top of the stairs with Xemnas, and Sora started doing combo attacks against the man, followed by Vanitas slashing with his machete. Xemnas then started floating towards them, slashing with his blades lots of times, giving the both of them flashbacks to when they had fought at Hollow Bastion. They managed to dodge the Ethereal Blades before retaliating with their own attacks, Sora with his Keyblade and Vanitas with his machete.

After a little while, Xemnas turned into an orb of darkness again and appeared behind Vanitas. Xemnas swung his right hand with the blade right at Vanitas, but he twirled around and caught it with his left hand. When Xemnas tried swinging the other blade at him, Vanitas deflected it with his machete before dropping the blade and punching the Organization leader in the face. He then kneed Xemnas in the stomach then kicked him, before grabbing Xemnas by the throat and choke slamming him to the ground, which once again looked a little odd since Vanitas was shorter than him. Vanitas then kicked Xemnas hard, knocking him towards Sora.

Sora managed to do a couple of combo attacks against Xemnas in a row, knocking him around before he changed into an orb of darkness and slid across the road. Xemnas reappeared and started swinging his Ethereal Blades at them. They managed to block the attacks with their blades and retaliate with their own attacks. After they did that, Xemnas slid across the ground covered in darkness before throwing up the electric barrier.

They managed to keep dodging Xemnas's attacks while delivering some of their own before Xemnas placed another curse on them, once again, going on top of the skyscraper. They once again ran on top of the fountain, broke through the curse, and ran up the wall. The two friends leaped at Xemnas and vice versa, and Sora managed to slam his Keyblade into Xemnas's stomach, then jumped up and hit him in the back with it, launching Xemnas down. Vanitas then grabbed Xemnas by his coat and punched the man a few times, slamming him into the building, then leaped towards the road, slamming Xemnas down hard and ending the fight. *** _1_ ***

Sora joined his ravenette friend on the ground soon enough and stared at the downed Xemnas with him. A circle of darkness appeared under him, and black and white thorns shot up, making Xemnas disappear.

"Fair warning, I don't think that was it," Vanitas commented.

"Sora!" Kairi called out, surprising the boys. "Where are you?"

Once more, blue lights flew up and surrounded everything around them in white. When they could see again, the two were simply dropped back on top of the highest castle point, landing roughly and surprising their friends.

"You know, it's just now occurring to me how much I didn't miss pain," Vanitas commented.

"You'll get over it," Sora said as they started pushing themselves up.

The group ran over to the doppelgängers and Mickey exclaimed in relief, "You're okay!"

They stood up and looked over their friends.

"Where's Xemnas?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, if this guy's anything like Ansem was, then one battle won't be enough," Vanitas added.

Donald looked around in curiosity, and exclaimed in surprise. They followed his gaze up to Kingdom Hearts, where they found the man floating in the center of the giant hole.

"Hear me, Kingdom Hearts!" Xemnas called out as winds rushed around the giant moon. "It seems we must begin anew. Ah, but know this: I will give to you as many hearts as it takes. Mark my words! You can no more be complete without me than I without you. Heed me, Kingdom Hearts! Lend me your power, so that we may be complete! The powers to erase the fools that hinder us."

"Xemnas! No!" Mickey called out.

"Hearts quivering with hatred..." Xemnas continued.

"Xemnas! Don't!" Sora called out.

"Hearts burning with rage..." Xemnas continued.

"You'll never win!" Donald called out.

"Hearts scarred with envy..." Xemnas continued.

"Fuck you!" Vanitas exclaimed, pulling out a .50 calibre M82 Berrett sniper rifle.

He held up the rifle and fired it, but the bullet was thrown through the air far away by the winds. The kickback of the rifle was even so powerful that it sent the ravenette flying back onto the ground.

"Huh," Vanitas hummed. "Turns out the kickback for these things is a lot stronger than I originally expected."

"That fool Ansem said the heart's true nature was beyond his understanding," Xemnas continued. "But it's not beyond mine! Hearts are the source of all power!"

The moon then glowed with a bright light, and the group all covered their eyes at the sight. Once the light faded, they looked up to see that Xemnas was gone.

"Xemnas!" Sora called out. "You can't hide from us!"

"We're not gonna let him get away now!" Mickey commented.

"Knowing how these bad guys work, he's probably setting something up," Vanitas commented as he slipped the rifle back into his sling.

"Look at that!" Kairi exclaimed, pointing out over the edge.

They followed her pointed finger to see light starting to gather over the edge. The light flared brightly, and then a metal doorway that looked similar to Kingdom Hearts with Nobody sigils on it appeared.

"What's goin' on?" Goofy asked.

"Kingdom Hearts..." Mickey said.

"Let's go," Riku said. "Xemnas must be inside."

"The worlds gave us this doorway," Mickey said. "They want us to be the guardians of their destiny!"

Sora nodded his head.

"Once we go through, there's no turning back," Riku announced. "It's victory... or oblivion. So Sora... are you ready?"

A see through blue pathway up to the doors, and Sora, Riku, and Mickey stood ready with their Keyblades. They held the ends of their blades up close to each other as circles of energy appeared around them. The three then raised their Keyblades into the air and shot out beams, which soon opened the doors, revealing a blue and magenta portal within.

"Get ready, Xemnas!" Sora announced as they lowered their Keyblades. "It all ends here!"

"Let's get this prick," Vanitas said before turning to Kairi. "Here, these don't have enough of a kickback to knock you off your feet."

He offered her his Micro Uzi and the Sadu ASALT 96, which she took and slipped over her shoulders by the straps.

"Your girl's going commando," Vanitas muttered to Sora as they walked up the blue pathway.

They went up the pathway and through the vortex in the doors. The group soon came out of the vortex and the doorway into an area very similar to the city below the castle. The buildings had magic designs around them to signify something was up with them. High above them and far in the distance rose a large white dragon with large mechanisms in front of it.

Sora and Vanitas were both visibly shocked by the sights in front of them.

"This is more techological than Ansem's magical," Vanitas commented.

"So... it seems your hearts have led you to obliteration," Xemnas announced far above them. "Perhaps it doesn't pay to be too loyal to one's heart. I will have to be sure and remember that."

The group exclaimed in surprise as an entire building started flying towards them. They turned back towards the door and started running towards it. The building broke as it hit the ground, forcing everyone onto the ground, with Kairi and Mickey getting thrown into the doors. They started getting up, and watched in surprise as the doors started to close.

"No!" Riku called out as the doors shut, sealing off Mickey who was running towards them.

The group stood up and turned towards where Xemnas was, with Donald already having his staff and Goofy having his shield.

"We can take him on our own!" Sora announced as he and Riku summoned their Keyblades.

"Let's get this prick," Vanitas repeated, taking out his Beretta, sliding in a new chamber and pulling back the chamber.

They started running forwards as the dragon floated up. Buildings then rose up in front of them one at a time, and Sora twirled his Keyblade in preparation. He charged forwards and slashed through all the buildings at once, coming out the other side as the pieces of the buildings started sliding towards the ground.

"Let's go!" Sora announced.

"And he's not a Master yet," Vanitas muttered in wide eyed confusion as the rest of the group followed the brunette.

They ran through a small opening and down a road, finding themselves on top of another building. The dragon rose up in the air with the large mechanism underneath with the giant cylinders made of other buildings. The dragon and its mechanism slammed down into the buildings attached to each other, and the group exclaimed as the impact made the buildings rose up.

The group ran across the rooftops as more buildings flew in the air. The buildings then flew towards them, and Sora and Vanitas got ready. They leaped up and Sora slashed a building in half with his Keyblade before they landed on top of the piece. The two lunged forwards and Vanitas yelled out as he punched another building, breaking it into four pieces.

"I'm really glad my super strength flared up there," Vanitas admitted. "That would have been embarrassing if I punched it and broke my hand instead."

They continued leaping at buildings as Sora slashed them in half with his Keyblade. Once they went through the air enough, they leaped far through the air, landing on the metal grated floor in front of the right cylinder. They stood ready as Bomb Bell Nobody Gummis appeared over them.

"We gotta knock the Nobodys into the cylinders," Vanitas instructed as he pulled out his sledgehammer with his opposite hand.

They did exactly that. Sora and Riku jumped up and attacked with their Keyblades, Donald and Goofy jumped up and attacked with their weapons, and Vanitas swung his sledgehammer high up and fired with his Beretta. They had to go across the grated floor quite a distance, which spent a lot of their time. The gears of the cylinder finished charging in front of them, so Sora and Vanitas leaped off of the grated floor and grabbed onto a horizontal pole pointed out, just as the cylinder fired out.

The two then leaped across the distance to the pole near the left cylinder. They rolled as they landed on the grated floor in front of the left cylinder and stood in preparation, with the rest of the group appearing next to them.

"I will never understand how they do that," Sora commented.

"Neither will I," Vanitas admitted.

They kept up the plan of knocking the Bomb Bells into the cylinder. This time, they managed to knock enough Bomb Bells into the cylinder to make it start exploding. Sora and Vanitas leaped up onto the pole again as it kept exploding. They leaped across the distance to the right cylinder as the left one started exploding and falling towards the ground far below them.

The two landed on the grated floor of the right cylinder once more, and Vanitas emptied his handgun into the last of the Bomb Bells needed, sending them into the right cylinder. As it started exploding, Sora and Vanitas leaped up onto the pole once more. They looked up at the central part of the mechanism and leaped up.

The entire group found themselves in the room with the energy core, which looked sort of like a stadium, complete with what looked an audience stand above them. Knowing they had to stop the energy core, they did what they did best: they started attacking it.

Sora started with combo attacks, Donald spammed Thunder and Blizzard, Riku jumped up and swung his Keyblade, Goofy spun around with his shield to attack, and Vanitas swung his sledgehammer. After they attacked enough, a barrier went over the energy core, and Creepers and an Assassin appeared behind them.

Sora cast Magnega and picked up the Creepers while the Assassin flew into the ground. Vanitas swung his large hammer at the Creepers while Goofy threw his shield, Riku slashed his Keyblade, Donald cast some more Thunder, and Sora did aerial combos. Once Magnega ended, Vanitas managed to get the Assassin out of the ground and slammed the sledgehammer into its head before kicking it aside.

Sora did combos against the Creepers, Donald blasted Blizzard, Goofy rode on his shield like it was a sleigh in an attack, Riku slashed with his Keyblade and launched out Dark Fire, and Vanitas swung his sledgehammer. The barrier then dropped from the energy core, and Sora glided over to it. He did a long aerial combo before the barrier came back up, and a Berserker and some more Creepers appeared.

Vanitas replaced his sledgehammer with a long barreled Mossberg 500 shotgun with a stock and fired at the Heartless, blowing up a Creeper with one shot. Sora cast Magnega and picked up the Berserker and the remaining Creepers before picking up the Berserker's hammer. Vanitas made sure to fire at the Berserker while it was in the air, causing significant damage. Once Magnega ended, Sora was able to drag the Nobodies in the vortex, doing the many swings of the weapon, knocking them around and taking out the Creepers.

More Assassins and Creepers appeared while Vanitas took out the Berserker with one more blast from his shotgun. The Assassins flew into the ground as Sora managed to get the Berserker hammer again, picking up the Creeper. He started the swings, deflecting an Assassin's slashes and making it come out of the ground. They kept fighting the Nobodies, taking out the Assassins within minutes.

The barrier came down from the energy core and the group ran towards it, attacking with their weapons. After a little while, Vanitas looked up in the air and saw the dragons wings coming into view over them.

"Bail!" he exclaimed.

They scattered as one of the wings jabbed into the ground in front of the energy core. They continued dodging for a bit, but when the second wing jabbed into the ground, Sora exclaimed in pain as it knocked him across the room. Vanitas threw up a Hi-Potion for his friend before they kept attacking the energy core until it started flaring purple light.

Light then gathered around the group, and when they could see again, they were in a circular chamber on top of the dragon's head. There was a throne in front of them that Xemnas sat atop on in armor, holding a large sword. On the sides of the throne were what looked like Xaldin's lances, Xigbar's Arrowguns, and Saïx's Lunatic. On the walls on each side of them were Axel's chakrams, and Demyx's sitar and Luxord's cards were in the see through ground. The group looked around in confusion before standing ready. Vanitas slipped out his machete and stood in his battle stance, his old one from when he had a Keyblade with his Keyblade raised up next to his head and his other hand raised out with the palm facing the ground.

"Hey, you stole my battle stance," Riku commented.

"I was doing this ten years ago, you stole it from me," Vanitas told him.

Xemnas gestured to them, and Xaldin's lances flew up. They started attacking Xemnas with their weapons while barely dodging the lances slamming down near them. Sora dodged a slash of Xemnas's giant sword with Reflega. The lances then spun around in circles around them before they formed a star like shape and slammed to the ground, knocking back Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas.

"Again, really didn't miss pain," Vanitas commented.

They got in close again and Sora attacked with combos, Riku slashed with his Keyblade and sent out Dark Fire, Goofy swung his shield, Donald swung his staff, and Vanitas slashed his machete.

"I shall devour all..." Xemnas said, gesturing with a hand.

Demyx's sitar glowed and the Forms appeared.

"The light and darkness," Xemnas finished.

Sora started attacking the Forms with each other like he did before to take them out while Riku jumped up and slashed with his Keyblade, Goofy spun around to attack with his shield, and Donald blasted Thunder. Xemnas gestured with his arm again, and Xigbar's Arrowgun's rose. Sora slid around the chamber as the darts fired out. Vanitas deflected the darts that got close to him before Xemnas had the Lunatics slam into the ground, causing big shockwaves.

Sora then ignited Final Form, making Donald and Goofy disappear and Oblivion to appear over his shoulder with the Kingdom Key. Sora attacked with both Keyblades with crazy looking slashes, Riku slashed with his Keyblade, and Vanitas slashed with his machete. Within seconds, Xemnas was defeated, and he groaned out in pain pretty loudly that Vanitas couldn't tell if it was pain or pleasure.

Light then flared over them all, and once they could see again, the entire group stood on top of the Organization castle once again standing in their battle stances while Xemnas fell to one knee while clutching his chest.

"I need... more rage..." Xemnas said weakly. "I need more... hearts..."

That made them get out of their battle stances.

"Xemnas," Sora said with actual sympathy on his face. "There's more to a heart than just anger or hate. It's full of all kinds of feelings. Don't you remember?"

"Unfortunately..." Xemnas said, looking up at them as lines and thorns flew up out of him. "I don't."

Smoke, lines, and thorns continued to fly up, and within seconds, Xemnas was gone.

"Oh, we never figured out why he was really after Kingdom Hearts," Sora said in disappointment.

"Aw, maybe it's one of those things we'll never figure out," Vanitas said. "Like, why do humans exist? Or, why should someone care if you put pineapple on a pizza? There just isn't an answer." *** _2_ ***

With Xemnas gone, the group put away their weapons and started cheering.

"We did it!" Sora exclaimed, pumping his fist.

"Fuck, yeah!" Vanitas exclaimed, before gaining a confused expression.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked.

"Sounds weird to cuss with my voice back like this," Vanitas admitted. He then started saying "Fuck" in various baritones. After saying it once in a pretty deep baritone, he commented, "I sounded like a porn star again."

That caused some laughs to erupt from the group.

"Gosh, you all did great!" Mickey congratulated them.

Riku turned from them and walked a few feet away. While the others kept cheering and pumping their fists, Sora and Vanitas followed the silver haired boy across the top of the tower.

"You're coming back with us, right?" Sora asked with a smile.

"I had given into the darkness," Riku reminded them with despair in his voice.

"Dude, don't be like that anymore," Vanitas told them.

"Riku!" Sora exclaimed.

"How'm I gonna face everyone?" Riku asked, turning to face them.

"Like this!" Sora said, pressing his hands to his cheeks and making his mouth into a weird expression.

This caused Vanitas and even steely Riku to start laughing. The castle then shook, making them all jump in surprise.

Mickey ran up to them and exclaimed, "Hurry!"

"I'll open a path," Riku announced, holding out a hand.

But then to his surprise, a dark corridor never opened.

"You don't belong in the dark realm anymore, Riku," Mickey told him.

"How do we get out of here, Your Majesty?" Donald asked.

Mickey put his hands to his side and hummed as he looked down in thought. Looking around, Sora, Vanitas, Riku, and Kairi's attentions were then drawn to a see through version of Naminé standing across the ground from them. They watched as Naminé faced away from them and pointed, making a dark corridor appear. Donald and Mickey ran towards it, going right through Naminé before she breifly disappeared to view the corridor.

"Who did this?" Donald asked.

"Welp, I'm not sure," Mickey admitted. "But we'd better hurry and get through."

They turned towards the rest of the group, and Vanitas laughed as Pluto appeared out of nowhere, ran around them while barking, and then ran through the corridor.

"Wait for me!" Goofy announced, running past them and through the corridor, followed by Mickey.

Donald turned towards the others and announced, "C'mon!"

He ran through the corridor, and Naminé reappeared. Kairi, Sora, and Vanitas walked up to the girl.

"Thank you, Naminé," Kairi said.

"Sure," Naminé said with a nod of the head.

"You did good, Naminé," Vanitas said with a smile. "You did good."

"Thanks, V," Naminé told him, before looking over at Sora. "See? We meet again, like we promised."

"Huh?" Sora asked, very confused.

"You said we'd meet again," Roxas's voice said. "But when we did..." A see through version of Roxas walked out of Sora, making the brunette jump in surprise, and Vanitas to smile sadly. "We might not recognize each other."

"I did, didn't I?" Naminé asked.

"But I knew you," Roxas pointed out.

"Mmm... it's strange," Naminé commented.

"I think I understand," Roxas told her with a slight smile. "I see myself the way you remember me. And you see yourself the way I remember you."

"I always thought Nobodies were doomed to fade back into darkness..." Naminé admitted.

"Yeah, but you and I didn't," Roxas said. "We got to meet our original selves."

"So, we can be together again!" Naminé said in excitement.

Vanitas frowned. Roxas was supposed to be with Xion, and if there was some way that these two could exist, then there had to be some way to get her back, too. Naminé better not try to get in with Roxas.

Roxas moved to stand next to her, facing Sora, Kairi, and Vanitas.

"Right," Roxas assured Naminé before looking at the three. "Any time Sora and Kairi are together.

"We'll be together every day," Kairi promised them before looking at Sora. "Right, Sora?"

"Uh, right!" Sora awkwardly promised her.

"And remember what I said, V," Roxas told the ravenette. "As long as you hang out with Sora, then I'll always be with you."

"I love you, man," Vanitas said with a cracked voice and tears running down his cheeks.

Naminé then stepped towards Kairi, and the two took each others hands and closed their eyes. Sora watched in surprised confusion as yellow light gathered around her. The light grew brighter before Naminé disappeared, and Kairi was briefly surrounded in yellow light, signaling that Naminé had returned to her.

Vanitas didn't miss the look of sadness on Riku's face at the sight of that happening. He did like to see that the feelings that the blonde had had for him weren't one sided, after all.

"Look sharp!" Roxas told the surprised Sora, getting both his and Vanitas's attentions.

Roxas then stood up straighter and closed his eyes as blue light gathered around him. The light grew brighter before he disappeared, and Sora was briefly surrounded in blue light, signaling that Roxas had returned to him. He then exclaimed in confusion and looked at his hands, before pressing them to his chest.

"Don't worry," Riku assured him, walking up next to his friend. "You're all still you."

"Your Nobody and Kairi's Nobody returned to yourselves," Vanitas told him to try to ease some of the confusion. "Well, technically, I guess Naminé could be a Nobody of both you and Kairi since she was formed when you released your heart to save Kairi."

"Oh," Sora said. Confusion then grew on his face. "Wait. Does that make Naminé mine and Kairi's..." *** _3_ ***

Vanitas stuttered and covered Sora's mouth with his hand.

"Trust me, do _not_ go down that road," Vanitas said. "It's too weird. Especially with how this guy felt about her."

Vanitas pointed at Riku behind him, who immediately looked away with his cheeks pink.

"Hey, let's go home!" Kairi announced as she stood in front of the dark corridor, staring at the trio of boys.

"Riku," Sora said. "C'mon."

"Yeah," Riku agreed.

"I can't wait to see how you're gonna explain to your parents where you've been this whole time," Vanitas admitted with a smile.

They started walking towards the corridor as Kairi walked in. To their surprise, darkness started flowing in front of the corridor, and they started running faster towards it. Kairi turned back to face them with fear in her eyes.

"Sora! V! Riku!" Kairi called out, reaching for them.

The corridor then vanished, taking Kairi away and leaving the trio behind.

"What?" Sora asked as they exclaimed in confusion.

"The fuck?" Vanitas finished for Sora.

They stared at where the portal had disappeared for a few seconds in shock. Vanitas looked to the left for a second, then immediately looked there again in shock.

"Guys?" he said, a little bit of fear in his voice.

Sora and Riku followed his gaze to where he was looking, and ran over to the edge of the other side of the tower top, staring in horrified amazement at what was in front of them.

Far in the distance, a gigantic teal cocoon glowed brightly, held up by stands of buildings on both the bottom and the top. The dragon rested in the cocoon before light started to glow brightly within. Once the light faded, the dragon flew out, spreading its claws, wings and tail, flying forwards with the help of the two engines below its stomach.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Vanitas said. "This guy's going out with a literal climax."

They watched, still in horrified amazement, as the dragon flew towards the castle. The dragon crashed into it, and the trio jumped in surprise as the ground beneath them shook. The dragon flew higher in the air, and the boys exclaimed in surprise as the broke castle top started to fall. They fell onto their bottoms as they slid across the floor.

Once the ground fell down enough, a Nobody speeder with a pad next to it came into view, and Riku stood up, charging towards it.

"Riku!" Sora called out.

Riku leaped towards the speeder and took control of the easy system. He flew the speeder in an arc around the falling castle top before flying it up to where they were.

"Sora! V!" Riku called out.

Sora jumped on a little railing port and leaped across the air onto the pad attached to the speeder.

"Hey!" Vanitas exclaimed, holding out his hands. "What am I supposed to..."

To all of their surprises, golden gauntlets appeared around Vanitas's hands.

"What the..." he said as he looked at his palms.

But then he saw the thrusters in the palms and exclaimed as energy shot out of them. Golden boots appeared over Vanitas's feet and ankles and shot the energy out once more. Vanitas floated up in the air and he used them to fly up next to the speeder with Sora and Vanitas. *** _4_ ***

"You look like Stark!" Sora commented.

"Yeah, a bit!" Vanitas agreed.

Riku piloted the speeder and Vanitas flew by his boots and gauntlets, going after the dragon. Sora summoned his Keyblade, and Vanitas turned off the thrusters on his gauntlets, taking out an M32A1 grenade launcher, and a belt with grenades attached in pockets slung over his shoulders.

"Let's finish this fucker off," Vanitas announced.

The battle was epic, but repetitive.

They had to destroy five parts of the dragon to finish it off. The tail, the two engines, and the main wings. Vanitas fired the grenades while Riku and Sora absorbed blasts from Speeders, Sora knocked Bomb Bells into the various parts with his Keyblade, they would fire a laser out of the speeder, and once they got enough energy from the enemies' blasts, they fired out a Megalaser that did significant damage. After they destroyed each part, they had to block gigantic lasers and even tiny missiles. It took them a while, but pretty soon, they had destroyed all five of those bigs parts of the dragon. *** _5_ ***

The trio breathed out in relief as they watched the dragon fall down towards the ground so far below them. It continued to fall, but within seconds, the dragon floated up so its upper half was over the smog that covered the city. At the sight of it getting ready, the trio looked up at each other in worry.

"Uh, oh," Vanitas commented.

Darkness, winds, and smoke started to fly out of the dragon and fly out all around. The smoke continued to fly up in the air, soon surrounding the three in the air and obscuring their visions from everything all around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Funnily enough, the first time I ever went through this game, this was the first Organization XIII boss I had fought and beaten on the first try
> 
> *2 I watch Dead Meat on YouTube, and he summarizes horror movies while counting the kills in them in a comedic way. The pineapple on pizza was a joke in the Kill Count for Prometheus
> 
> *3 Had to have it one more time 😂
> 
> *4 I gave Vanitas those gauntlets and boots for a reason. With his life force back, I figured it was time to bring 'em back
> 
> *5 As awesome as the dragon battle, it is pretty much just the same moves five times in a row


	35. To End it All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora, Riku, and Vanitas take on Xemnas...

Pretty soon, the winds faded, and the trio found the dragon pretty amped up. It was attached to a gigantic assortment of buildings around it, with gears on its arms that looked like they formed some kind of shield when combined. They flew up to the dragon's head, where they found Xemnas once again sitting in the throne with his large sword. Sora and Riku jumped off of their speeder and Vanitas disengaged his rockets, landing with them in the head, staring at Xemnas.

Their attentions were drawn to outside of the chamber. The speeder that Sora and Riku had taken was sucked back through the air and swallowed in a black hole out in the distance.

"Why the fuck is that there?" Vanitas asked. *** _1_ ***

They directed their attentions back towards Xemnas. Once again, Sora and Riku summoned their Keyblades, Vanitas pulled out his machete, and they all stood in their battle stances.

"Hey, Riku? V?" Sora asked.

"Yeah?" Riku asked.

"What's up, man?" Vanitas asked.

"I wanted to thank Naminé, but..." Sora started. "I couldn't bring myself to say it, not until everything was back to the way it was before."

"Hey, that will happen," Vanitas assured him.

"We'll make sure it happens," Riku added. "Once this is over, you can thank her all you want."

"Yeah!" Sora agreed.

"See my heart's power..." Xemnas taunted.

Riku first threw up a Hi-Potion for Sora to heal him from the damage he had taken during the battle against the dragon, then they all charged in and attacked the man in his throne. Sora did his combo attacks, Riku slashed lots of times with his own Keyblade, and Vanitas slashed with his machete while also punching and kicking with the gauntlet and boots he hadn't dismissed yet. Xemnas then raised his sword in preparation, and Sora blocked with Reflega while Vanitas and Riku jumped over the blade to dodge it.

Xemnas then threw up a barrier, which they managed to dodge before keeping up the attacks. But then Xemnas slashed down with his sword, throwing the trio off of the dragon head and across the area, towards the black hole. Xemnas muttered about the hearts' power and nothingness being eternal as the dragon moved its arms over itself, making the shield that Vanitas thought it would. Lasers fired out of the gears on its back, and buildings flew through the air in an attack.

Sora managed to used repeated jumps and Glide to reach a building in midair. Riku and Vanitas got on top of it, and Sora knocked the building with his Keyblade.

"Most awesome roller coaster ever!" Vanitas exclaimed as they rode the building right into the shield.

The dragon opened up its arms, lowering the shield, and Vanitas strapped a piece of C4 to the building while Riku struck it with his Keyblade. The building broke into pieces, which fell to the shield. The impact of the pieces falling on the shield combined with the explosion made the dragon open up its arms again, dropping the shield once more. Of course, they had to let themselves fall through the air a bit to dodge the lasers that Xemnas fired at them.

The trio then flew or continuously jumped back up to the dragon's head while Xemnas muttered about anger and hate being the heart's greatest virtues, and requesting they sustained him. Vanitas was all to eager to shut him up with a fireball to the face once they reached the man's level again.

After Sora did a combo attack on Xemnas, he started a team attack with Riku that Vanitas joined in on. First, they charged forwards and started slashing with their blades all together. Then they backed up before they started stabbing their blades and sending out Dark Fire. They backed up once more and got back to back to back, spinning around while slashing with their own blades and multiple others that appeared. They then backed up and threw up their weapons as energy gathered around them, white energy for Sora, bluish black energy for Riku, and red energy for Vanitas. The energy surged for a bit before light flared, and once they could see again, they landed on the ground and gave a three way fist bump as the team attack ended.

"Is that the breadth of your hearts?" Xemnas taunted as the larger lasers appeared over his throne and started to close in on the boys.

They dodged the lasers, but then Xemnas slashed his sword down once again, throwing the trio off the dragon head and towards the black hole again. The lasers appeared once more, and once more they just fell to dodge them. Once the buildings started appearing, they flew or continuously jumped towards it, and Vanitas strapped a lot more C4 onto it.

"For better results," he said.

"Just try not to blow me up," Riku said.

Sora knocked the building towards the dragon once again with Riku and Vanitas riding atop. The building crashed into the dragon and made it open the shield before Riku slashed it. The building broke into pieces, with each piece still having C4 attached. The building pieces rained down on the shield again, and this time, the impact combined with the many more explosions caused the shield to explode.

The trio let themselves fall once more to dodge the lasers, then started flying or continuously jumping back up to the head. During this, Xemnas tried taunting them to get under their skin, asking Sora if he could trust Riku and Vanitas, and asking Riku if he wasn't jealous of Sora. Vanitas was starting to get really tired of this guy's bullshit.

They got back onto the dragon's head and started dodging the lasers once again. They ran back up to Xemnas and kept attacking. Sora kept up his combo attacks, Riku kept slashing with his Keyblade, and Vanitas slashed with his machete. Pretty soon, they had beaten Xemnas, who once again groaned out in a way that Vanitas couldn't tell was pain or pleasure.

Light soon flared once again, blinding them. Once the boys could see again, they were in an endless grey area with what looked white regal white vortexes all around them. In front of them stood Xemnas, his cloak now white with black patterns.

"Heroes from the realm of light..." Xemnas said, gesturing with his arms. "I will not allow it to end this way, not yet. If light and darkness are eternal, then surely we nothings must be the same... Eternal!"

After a few seconds of silence, Riku admitted, "You're right, light and darkness are eternal. Nothing probably goes on forever, too. But guess what, Xemnas?"

"That doesn't mean _you're_ eternal!" Sora finished.

"You're not the kind of Nothing that gets to stick around for that long," Vanitas added.

Xemnas only chuckled at their words.

"No more eternal than that radiance of yours..." he said darkly.

Xemnas stood ready for battle while Sora, Vanitas, and Riku did the same thing, Sora and Riku with their Keyblades and Vanitas with his machete.

"Anger and hate are supreme..." Xemnas taunted before rushing forwards and disappearing. *** _2_ ***

He reappeared a little distance away from them, and the boys had to start dodging as he sent out orbs of electricity that soon became taller than them. Riku exclaimed as one of the orbs shocked him, Vanitas did cartwheels and flips, getting closer to Xemnas, and Sora slid around the orbs. Once he got close enough to Xemnas, the man sent out one more orb, and Sora cast Reflega. The shield absorbed the attack from above and sent out the mini explosions in retaliation, damaging Xemnas a bit. Sora followed up the mini explosions with a full combo attack, along with Riku jumping forwards and slashing with his Keyblade, and Vanitas doing the same with his machete.

Xemnas then backed away from them and sent out thorns in an attack. They used Reversal to lunge forwards around the thorns, reaching Xemnas. Sora did another combo attack, Riku slashed some more with his Keyblade, and Vanitas fired the three round burst of a Beretta 93 right in the Organization leader's face.

Xemnas then threw up the orbs again before suddenly appearing in front of Sora.

"We shall go together..." Xemnas announced before throwing Sora up in the air.

He then quickly flew up at Sora and swung his Ethereal blades. Riku and Vanitas followed behind and joined Sora in using Reversal to block the thorns Xemnas kept making appear as they went through the air. More than a couple of times, Xemnas launched up and spun around slashing with his Ethereal blades some more.

After a little while of dodging, Sora and Riku fell back to the ground, but Xemnas grabbed Vanitas by the shoulder and dragged him up into the air.

"You have been in my way for far too long," Xemnas growled out.

"Are you really that surprised?" Vanitas asked, gripping Xemnas's wrist with his other hand.

Vanitas swung his machete at Xemnas, who made thorns fly out and knock it out of his hand.

"You forget one thing about having feelings again," Xemnas said, a sadistic smirk growing on his face. "I'm about to really enjoy this..."

Electricity appeared in his hand holding Vanitas up, and he exclaimed in pain. Vanitas grit his teeth as he tried to hold in his screams, but then Xemnas decided to make it worse. Xemnas held his free hand up to Vanitas's side, and made an Ethereal blade fly through. Vanitas yelled out in pain as the blade went right through him, burning a lot.

"And we're just getting started..." Xemnas said with his sadistic smirk still on his face. *** _3_ ***

Vanitas continued to cry out, but then Riku leaped up and grabbed Xemnas's hand. He rammed the end of his Keyblade into Xemnas's hand, making the Ethereal blade disappear before he slashed at Xemnas directly. Xemnas let go of Vanitas, and Riku helped the ravenette float back down to the ground. Sora blasted up Blizzaga to damage Xemnas while the two landed on the ground.

"You all right, V?" RIku asked in genuine worry, throwing up a Hi-Potion for the ravenette.

Vanitas winced as the wound in his side healed. Then he stood straight up, looked up at Xemnas above them, and patted Riku on the shoulder.

"Riku..." Vanitas said with a relieved smile. "You're definitely off the 'Kill' list."

Riku frowned at that slightly, but then he brushed it off and stood ready again, with Vanitas using his telekinesis to get back his machete.

Two Xemnases then briefly appeared around Sora before they disappeared. Xemnas appeared a few feet in front of him, and charged forwards. He cast Reflega just as Xemnas sent out the thorns. The mini explosions retaliated, and Sora finished a combo while Riku sent out Dark Fire, and Vanitas threw a fireball that exploded. Xemnas then teleported a few feet away and threw out the electric orbs.

Vanitas got an idea. He held out his hands in hope, and luckily, the orbs froze. He then pulled back his arms in preparation before pointing them at Xemnas. The orbs grew in side and ended up damaging Xemnas instead of the boys.

"Nice!" Sora and Riku congratulated one at a time.

Xemnas growled out before appearing in front of Riku and slashing his Ethereal Blades, knocking the silver haired boy back a bit in pain. Vanitas threw up a Hi-Potion for Riku before they started dodging more electric orbs. After a little while of dodging, they got in close and started attacking again. Sora did some more combos, Riku slashed with his Keyblade or sent out Dark Fire, and Vanitas alternately slashed his machete and fired the handgun.

After a little while, Xemnas decided to try new ways of attack. At one point, he spun vertically at Sora or Vanitas while slashing with his Ethereal Blades, sending out more thorns, or spinning horizontally while kicking his legs. Xemnas soon started throwing the electric orbs again, and the boys kept dodging them before retaliating with their own attacks. After a little while of doing this, Riku threw up a Hi-Potion for Sora just before Xemnas held him in place with his own magic.

"Can you spare... a heart?" Xemnas asked as he floated in the air with Sora still hostage.

Riku and Vanitas leaped up to help Sora, but Xemnas kicked them back. The two backflipped away and looked up to see Sora still being held up in place, and Vanitas sensed that if they didn't move fast, things would take a dark turn.

"Sora!" Riku exclaimed as he stood in his battle stance.

"Hold on, buddy!" Vanitas exclaimed.

A Xemnas duplicate appeared and charged at them. Riku blasted the duplicate with Dark Fire before they started running around the electric orbs it launched out. Vanitas fired the three round burst out of his handgun as he and Riku kept charging forwards. Once they got close enough, Riku slashed the duplicate Xemnas with his Keyblade, and Vanitas shot it one more time with his handgun.

They got close enough to Xemnas, and Riku jumped up, jabbing at Xemnas's head, which he blocked. He then covered Xemnas's magic hand with his free hand, releasing the magic and making Sora fall to the ground. Vanitas jumped up and elbowed Xemnas in the shoulder before Riku hit him in the face with the handle of his Keyblade. Riku and Vanitas both hit him with the handles of their weapons before Riku launched Xemnas up into the air.

"Is that all you got?" Riku taunted as the two landed on the ground, looking up at Xemnas with Sora.

Sora slid up to the stunned Xemnas and started the team attack, Session, again. The three of them lunged forwards and started slashing their blades at Xemnas once again. They then backed up before going in and stabbing with their blades or sending out Dark Fire. They backed up once more before they started spinning around and slashing with their blades, along with many others. They used the last attack, throwing up their weapons as they gathered energy. Once again, they stayed in place and surged the energy in the attack. Light then flared, and once they could see again, the boys landed on the ground and did a three way fist bump as the team attack ended.

It was after that that Xemnas started going further. He started firing the red laser bolts out of his hands, which were not that easy to block. Xemnas first had two of him fire the bolts, before he went into a circle around Sora a couple of times to make the bolts fire all around, then he went in various directions to leave behind lines to fly the bolts at the trio.

When Xemnas was done with the cascade of laser bolts, Sora jumped up into a long aerial attack, Riku and Vanitas slashed with their blades, Riku fired more Dark Fire, and Vanitas threw more fireballs. Xemnas then backed up and threw the electric orbs towards the boys once more, and they kept dodging. Like the first time this had happened, Sora got close and cast Reflega to retaliate before they attacked once more.

Xemnas appeared in front of Sora and said, "We shall go together..." before throwing the brunette up in the air.

Sora cast Reflega as Xemnas jumped up and slashed with his Ethereal Blades once more. Riku and Vanitas leaped up once more and joined him in using Reversal to dodge all the thorns. After the dodging for a bit, Xemnas hit Sora in the face with his Ethereal Blade before kicking him away. Sora got knocked away with his Keyblade flying away. RIku then caught it and threw it to Sora. He caught it and held it up in defense with Riku as Xemnas slashed his Ethereal blades at both of them. Xemnas then twirled around and brushed them aside with his blades.

Vanitas then jumped up onto Xemnas's shoulders and jabbed the machete through his back, and it came out the opposite side. Xemnas exclaimed in pain as he looked down at the machete through his stomach.

"Karma, bitch," Vanitas told his old enemy.

Xemnas did a front flip, throwing Vanitas onto the ground in front of his friends. He looked down at the machete, and gestured, making the machete fly back out. As they expected, there wasn't a wound or even a tear in the cloak. Vanitas rolled on the ground and managed to grab his machete while Sora blocked the many, many laser bolts that Xemnas shot at him.

After a little while, Xemnas threw Sora in the air once more, and he used Reflega a bit more than he did last time to dodge the Ethereal Blades and the thorns. Vanitas and Riku followed as Sora occasionally used Reversal to dodge the thorns. Vanitas grabbed Xemnas by the shoulders again and did a backflip, throwing the Organization leader towards Riku, who slashed him with his Keyblade, sending him flying.

Sora then started Session again, and the three started once again by rushing in and slashing multiple times. They backed up before rushing in again and stabbing and shooting Dark Fire. They backed up once again before rushing in and slashing with their own blades and multiple others. Then they started the last attack, throwing up their blades as they were surrounded in energy. They stayed in place as they surged the energy out, doing lots of damage. Light flared and they landed on the ground, doing a three way fist bump as the team attack ended.

The three then looked up as energy appeared in Xemnas's hands, making everything around them go black, to their surprise.

"Oh, no..." Vanitas said in horror. "I remember this. It's what he used to beat me last time..."

They pulled out with their blades in preparation as the blackness around them was then filled with ready to fire bolts. Vanitas even pulled out his katana backhanded with his other hand just in case. Xemnas had energy surge around himself before he pointed his hands at the trio. The three started slashing their blades around while doing summersaults to make sure they got all the bolts around them. The bolts then started firing more quickly around them. This went along for quite a while, and after a little bit, things went completely white. *** _4_ ***

When they could see again, all three of them found themselves on their hands and knees, panting in exhaustion. Xemnas then hit Riku in the chin with an Ethereal blade, making the boy exclaim as he was thrown back.

"Riku!" Sora exclaimed as he looked over his shoulder at his friend.

But then Xemnas's Ethereal Blade appeared over his shoulder, making him look up. Xemnas pulled back with his Blade, but Riku rushed forwards and faced his back to Xemnas, holding up his Keyblade to block. Vanitas and Riku then pushed Sora black as Xemnas twirled around and hit Riku in the black with his Ethereal Blade. The silver haired boy exclaimed in pain as he fell back towards his friends. Sora then gritted his teeth and launched forwards, taking Riku's offered Keyblade backhanded in his opposite hand, charging past Riku towards Xemnas with Vanitas.

Sora struck with both Keyblades in Xemnas's stomach, and Vanitas uppercutted then kicked Xemnas in the face. Sora then started attacking with both Keyblades, doing significant damage to Xemnas, knocking him up in the air. Sora then twirled the Keyblades around himself in preparation, and in a flash of light, he became Roxas in his Organization claok, with the Kingdom Key becoming Oathkeeper and Way to the Dawn becoming Oblivion. Roxas then leaped up and struck Xemnas in the back, reverting back to Sora. Vanitas then jumped up and punched, kicked, and rammed his machete handle right into Xemnas, launching him up even more. The doppelgängers than backflipped towards Riku again.

Sora landed on Riku's left, with Vanitas landing on Sora's left. Sora held up Oathkeeper in preparation.

"Riku," Sora said, offering the Keyblade.

Riku nodded his head and placed his hand over Sora's.

"V," Sora said, and both boys looked at the ravenette.

Vanitas smiled at them, and they smiled back. Vanitas placed his hand on the other side of the Keyblade, and light appeared over the handle.

"All the way," Vanitas announced as they looked up at Xemnas

Together, they aimed the Keyblade right up towards Xemnas, and two circles of energy appeared around the end. A stronger beam than usual shot out of the Keyblade and went right through Xemnas.

"Curse you... Keyblade..." Xemnas muttered out.

Oathkeeper and Oblivion changed back to Kingdom Key and Way to the Dawn, and Sora gave Riku back his Keyblade. They all watched as Xemnas clutched his chest as light flared around him. Xemnas reached out with wide eyes and a dropped jaw as black and white thorns started flying out of him. Grey, white, and black lines then started flying out as Xemnas continued fading away. Within seconds, Xemnas was completely gone, with little wisps of black and white smoke serving as his end.

"So... do you really have a 'Kill' list?" Riku asked, looking at Vanitas.

"Yeah," Vanitas simply said.

"How many people are on it?" Riku asked.

"Well, we just crossed one name off," Vanitas rationalized, gesturing up to where Xemnas was.

"Guys, who cares?" Sora asked with a smile. "We did it!"

But then to their surprise, Dusks started to appear around them in all manners, forming a veritable army.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," was all Riku said.

"I guess we gotta get through one last hurdle..." Vanitas sighed out in resignation.

The three stood back to back to back as the Nobodies started sliding in. They had to keep fighting for... quite a little while. After a while, the Dusks had reached that point, and started exploding on their own, while Riku fell onto his knees. Sora and Vanitas put away their weapons as they kneeled down to help their friend, who had fallen onto his hands.

"Guys..." Riku said, weakly. "I can't..."

"Stop with the pessimistic shit," Vanitas told him.

"Yeah," Sora agreed as Riku looked up at them. "It's not over. It's just not."

Sora put Riku's arm around his shoulder and helped his friend up to his feet. Vanitas offered to help, but Sora gestured his arm, assuring that he had it.

"How can you say that?" Riku asked. "Even if we could go on... look where we are."

"Aw, c'mon, Riku," Sora said. "You've been hanging out in darkness too long. You gotta try and think positive!"

"Yeah, remember who you're talking to," Vanitas reminded Riku. "This is the kind of guy who can find something positive in an apocalypse. Which... he did."

Riku looked at them in consideration.

"Sora? V?" he asked.

"Hm?" Sora asked.

"You guys lead," Riku told them.

"Got it," Sora assured.

They started walking along through the void in front of them, towards whatever they could hope to find.

"You know..." Riku said to Sora after a little while. "I always figured I was better than you at stuff."

"Really?" Sora asked with a smile.

"Are you mad?" Riku asked.

"No," Sora assured him. "I kinda always thought you were better at everything, too."

"Game recognize game, dude," Vanitas told Riku.

Riku looked down, and Sora and Vanitas looked in front of them, their attentions soon drawn to a growing light in front of them.

"Riku, look," Sora told his friend. "What's that light?"

"The only lead we got," Vanitas sort of answered.

The three friends walked to the light as it grew brighter and brighter, disappearing within.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 While the black hole thing is awesome, it still kind of confuses me that it's there
> 
> *2 This is a fight I heavily recommend watching in the Timeline Episode, episode 107: To End It All, partly because of the music alone
> 
> *3 With the rivalry they've had so far, something like this was bound to happen at some point
> 
> *4 I remember the first time I did that battle, I was confused by both X and triangle being Reflect. First time ever, I got one of those "fail" things, maybe 'cause I forgot about Riku's health bar. So, from that point on, I only had Riku doing it, and just let Sora take the brunt of it all. I did that for like, five years, before I figured out that you could do them both at once. Looking back on it, I feel kinda dumb for doing that for so long
> 
> With how Vanitas is depicted, you gotta admit that it's actually kind of in character for him to have a "Kill" list
> 
> A little part of me thought that we were gonna have a Battle of 1000 Nobodies there at the end. They might've, but since they had almost cut the Battle of 1000 Heartless 'cause of how much happened in it, I guess it makes sense that they decided to just make it happen off screen


	36. The Door to Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora, Riku, and Vanitas open the Door to Light...

When the light faded, the trio were surprised to find themselves on a barren black beach. Rocks were all around them with various blue lines along them, the water was very dark, and while the sun shined bright, it looked fake.

"End of the road," Riku said as they observed the beach around them.

"Yep," Sora agreed with a slight nod.

"Well, you made it to the dark realm, Sora," Vanitas tried rationalizing.

As he said that, he couldn't help but think of the last time they were this close to the dark realm at the end of their first adventure, when they were closing the doors of Kingdom Hearts. He remembered how he had briefly sensed the presence of his friend, Aqua, nearby, and had sensed that she was in danger. He grimaced as he remembered he hadn't thought of that in months. He hoped Aqua was okay. And he especially hoped that she wasn't still down here.

"Put me down," Riku instructed Sora with a smile. "I can walk."

"You sure?" Vanitas asked as Sora released his friend's arm, and he shook slightly.

But Riku managed to brace himself on his feet and stood up straight, looking at them with a smile. He shrugged his shoulders, and Sora and Vanitas nodded at him. They then looked out at the water, and Sora and Vanitas walked over to the waves that were sliding in.

"You know..." Sora said, somberly. "Maybe the darkness has gotten to me, too."

"We all have our moments where we give into our own bouts of darkness," Vanitas admitted.

The sound of something thudding drew their attention back to Riku. They looked over their shoulders at the silver haired boy to see him face down on the ground.

"Riku!" Sora called out.

The two of them ran to Riku and kneeled down to his level as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees.

"This world is perfect for me," Riku said. He looked up. "If this is what the world really is, just this... then maybe I should fade back into darkness."

"Riku..." Sora said.

"Dude..." Vanitas said.

Riku got up onto his knees.

"If the world is made of light and darkness..." Riku said. "We'll be the darkness."

Vanitas did not understand what Riku meant by that. But apparently, Sora did, because he moved so he was now sitting beside Riku.

"Yeah," he said. "The other side... The realm of light is safe now. Kairi, the King, and the others are there."

"That's what I mean," Riku said.

"Ah," Vanitas said, staring out at the water with them. "Now I get it..."

He was lying. He still didn't understand. *** _1_ ***

"Hey, Sora..." Riku gently said, getting his friends' attentions. "Could you help me? I want to get down to the water."

Sora nodded his head and slipped Riku's arm over his shoulders again, helping his friend to his feet. Sora half carried, half dragged Riku across the sand with Vanitas following.

"At least the waves sound the same," Riku rationalized with a smile.

They sat down on the beach and watched as the waves slid in, right below their shoes.

"What I said back there..." Riku said to Sora. "About thinking I was better at stuff than you..."

Sora hummed in curiosity, letting him know he was listening.

"To tell you the truth, Sora..." Riku said. "I was jealous of you."

"What for?" Sora asked.

"I wished I could live life the way you do," Riku admitted. "Just following my heart."

"Is that why you did that crap during our first journey?" Vanitas asked.

"It was one reason," Riku admitted.

"I sort of know that feeling," Vanitas admitted. "I was like that, too. The only thing I had to drive me then was my mission. It consumed my entire being. Well, that and..."

"And... what?" Riku asked, Sora looking on with curiosity.

"I didn't have a Keyblade anymore," Vanitas reminded them. "All I had left were dreams of myself using one. You guy's don't know what it's like to have that kind of crap going in your head and not being able to do it yourself, anymore. So, as I was trying to take out Xehanort, I was also trying to prove myself. Prove to... anybody, really... that I was just as good without the Keyblade as I was with it. And... there were moments I let myself go too far with it."

Vanitas smiled as he looked past Riku at Sora.

"Luckily this guy managed to remind me I didn't need to do that, anymore," he said.

"Yeah, well, I've got my share of problems, too," Sora admitted as they looked out at the sea again.

"Like what?" Riku asked.

"Like, wanting to be like you, Riku," Sora admitted.

Riku hummed with a slight nod of the head.

"Well, there is one advantage to being me..." he admitted. "Something you could never imitate."

"Really?" Sora asked. "What's that?"

"Having you for a friend," Riku answered, smile on his face.

"Then I guess..." Sora said. "I'm okay the way I am. I've got something you could never imitate, too."

"A girlfriend?" Vanitas asked, smile wide.

"Not what I was gonna say," Sora said, trying to change the subject.

"Whoa, V does have a point," Riku said with just a wide smile. "You and Kairi haven't been denying any of the snide comments we've been making."

"And at one point you agreed with me on one," Vanitas added.

"He did!?" Riku asked in surprise, looking at Vanitas in excitement.

"C'mon, guys..." Sora said with bright pink cheeks.

Vanitas and Riku laughed at his face, their friendship now finished solidifying.

After a little while, they all smiled softly and stared up at the sky before closing their eyes. It was when the tide started coming in closer that Riku felt something odd brush against his foot. He opened his eyes and looked down to see a corked bottle with a piece of paper within. Vanitas opened his eyes just in time to see Riku looking down at the bottle in confusion.

He then gripped his head and had a vision, and he was very happy to see that with his life force back, the pain was equal to that of a slight brain freeze, not a flaming sword through each eye. Vanitas saw Kairi placing the bottle in the sea back before Sora had woken up, admitting to her friend, Selphie, that it was for "the boy she couldn't remember."

' _How the hell did it reach the realm of darkness?_ ' he couldn't help but think.

The vision ended as Riku opened the bottle and slipped the paper out. Once he uncurled the paper and started reading it did he get an idea of who it was from.

"Sora?" Riku said with a smile, holding out the paper.

"Hm?" Sora asked, opening his eyes and looking at them.

"I think it's for you," Riku said, gesturing with the paper to make it more obvious.

Sora took the paper and stared down at the words.

"Thinking of you, wherever you are," he read.

Vanitas heard both Sora's voice and Kairi's voice say, "We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope for our hearts to blend. Now I will step forwards to realize this wish."

Kairi's voice alone continued, "And who knows: starting a new journey may not be so hard. Or maybe it's already begun. There are many worlds, but they share the same sky. One sky, one destiny."

Sora smiled as he finished reading.

"You know, that really doesn't help your case," Vanitas said with crossed arms, and Riku nodded in agreement with a smile.

Sora ignored them, because his attention was drawn to in front of him. A thin pillar of light had appeared in front of them, growing wider and wider until it was a definite rectangle.

"Light," Riku said in amazement.

"The door to light..." Sora said in awe.

"It's beautiful," Vanitas said in equal awe.

Sora stood up and offered Riku a hand.

"We'll go together," Sora said.

"Yeah," Riku agreed.

"All the way," Vanitas agreed as they all stood up.

The door to light grew brighter, and the three friends walked through it, hopeful for whatever was to come.

* * *

On a world far from the realm of darkness, high above the sea, three meteors in bluish light started falling towards the water. Those meteors happened to be the unconscious forms of Sora, Vanitas, and Riku. The three of them splashed in the water, and that's when they woke up. The three broke through the surface of the water and gasped for air.

"What the fuck?" Vanitas asked as they shook their heads, getting the water out of their hair. *** _2_ ***

The three looked around in confusion, not understanding where they were at this point. Luckily...

"Sora! Riku! V!" Kairi's voice called out.

They followed that voice to see the island that Sora, Riku, and Kairi had played at all the time growing up. Kairi was standing on the beach waving to them with a wide smile on her face. Sora exclaimed in happiness and looked over his shoulder to his friends. They then started their swim to the shore, with Sora leading the way.

Pretty soon, the sand had leveled out so they could stand, and Sora immediately started running through the water, right towards Kairi, with just a wide smile on his face.

Then, to Kairi's confusion, but still to the excitement of Sora, Vanitas, and Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy charged past her, jumping in the water towards the boys. Donald and Goofy tackled Sora back into the water with their hugs, while Mickey jumped up to Vanitas and hugged him, before jumping to Riku and doing the same thing. Vanitas then kneeled down in the water with his ship mates and started hugging them as well, just happy that they were all okay.

They all smiled widely at each other before looking back at Riku and Mickey. The two smiled at each other before looking at the Gummi quartet. They in turn looked up to see Kairi smiling down at Sora.

Sora then reached down into his pocket and pulled out Kairi's good luck charm that she had given to him back in that Traverse Town sewer. Sora then looked up at Kairi and the two smiled at each other, and Vanitas briefly saw Roxas and Naminé instead.

Sora then brushed the side of his face and said, "W-we're back."

Kairi held out a hand and corrected him, "You're home."

Sora smiled at her offered hand and took it, placing her good luck charm back in it.

Vanitas smiled at his friends. Things weren't entirely all right. His memories and Keyblade were still gone, Roxas and Naminé were still alive but inside their Somebodies' bodies, and who knew what happened to Xion and Axel?

But right now, they could just celebrate what they had accomplished so far. He had his life force back, Sora and Kairi were reunited, they had put all the hearts the Organization had gathered back to where they belonged, and he had (sort of) finally gotten his revenge against Xehanort after so many years. These were the victories that they could celebrate.

And that was good enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 And I still don't. 12 years later
> 
> *2 Had to have one in the epilogue. It's pretty much the law at this point for the game titles with the Roman numeral numbers
> 
> Still have the after the battle scene as the epilogue. Ah, it's good to have another story down. This was a real treat to do, because I finally got to do something good for a character I've been having go through hell for the last few stories. He's finally got a win, and that's good enough for now.
> 
> Up next, we're gonna be doing some more Marvel crossovers before we get to the next purely KH installment of the series. It'll start with him being on vacation with Sora, Kairi, and Riku at Destiny Islands. Which he'll need. There's gonna be two crossovers, and at that point, from KH I to the end of that story, he'll have been active 10 stories without an extended break without worrying about saving other worlds. He needs it. Once that gets interrupted by the news of Xehanort's upcoming return, then he's gonna work on getting his memories back. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Up next is the Guardian's of the Galaxy Crossover, then Age of Ultron. I'm looking forwards to those. Partly 'cause Age of Ultron was the first Marvel movie I saw, and thought Vision was awesome
> 
> (On that note, who all saw the trailer for WandaVision? It was just as cool and weird looking as I was hoping. I'm really looking forward to the show)


End file.
